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This work will analyse the factors which influence decision-making within the Spanish public sector on the financing of precompetitive research projects developed by firms in collaboration with universities and public research organisms. With this objective in mind, an econometric model is proposed that explains simultaneously the concession of aid on behalf of the public sector and the amount of such aid. The estimates carried out indicate, among other results, that the destination of the budgeted funds explains a large part of the public financing received. However, all the evidence would seem to indicate that the funding has not been awarded either in order to significantly favour those firms which most need it, nor to give incentive to high levels of cooperation.

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The aim of this paper is to assess the success of the Spanish technology policy instrument 'proyectos concertados' (co-operative projects which receive public financing) in the stimulation of co-operation between firms and public research centres (PRCs). The paper analyses the factors which explain the different impact of this aid in relation to: a) whether or not the public intervention has contributed to getting a project carried out co-operatively which would otherwise have been carried out by the firm alone; b) whether or not the firms which have carried out proyectos concertados intend to continue to co-operate with the participant PRCs. The information used corresponds to the opinion of the firm which undertakes the proyecto concertado. The authors are grateful to Olga Rodríguez and an anonymous referee for useful comments and suggestions. Information contained in this paper has been obtained thanks to the collaboration of the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI). This study has received financing from the National R&D Plan (Project SEC97-1331). T HE LACK OF INTERRELATION inSpain between the research conducted by firms and that which is carried out by public research centres (PRCs) has led to the integration in science and technology policies of instruments which facilitate the articulation of the science-technologyindustry system. This paper centres on the technology policy instrument proyectos concertados, which awards interest-free loans to precompetitive research projects carried out by firms with the participation of at least one PRC research team. The aim is to analyse the success of these projects in stimulating cooperation between firms and PRCs.Evidence is obtained as to the reasons which explain both that the proyecto concertado makes the firm co-operate with a PRC when it would otherwise have carried out the research alone, and that, after completing the proyecto concertado, the firm continues to collaborate with the participant PRC. To sum up, a study is made of the influence of public intervention on the generation of co-operation and its impact on the continuation of this co-operation. To be more specific, this paper revolves around the following two questions:· In the absence of public funding, would the firm have carried out the research project with the participation of the PRC? A negative response to this question would indicate that the proyecto concertado has generated co-operation. · Do those firms which have received funding intend to continue to collaborate with the PRCs which participated in the proyectos concertados? Affirmative responses indicate that collaboration will continue without public aid.

This paper focuses on the impact that gender segregation in the labour market exerts on the underemployment gender gap for young adult workers in Spain. In order to analyse the relative importance of segregation in this gap, we develop a methodology based on two counterfactual simulations that provides a detailed decomposition of the gap into endowments and coefficients effects as well as the interaction of these effects. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to perform a decomposition using bivariate probit models with sample selection. Using annual samples of the Spanish Labour Force Survey 2006–2016, the results show that working in female-dominated occupations or industries hinders working as many hours as desired, especially for women. Furthermore, we conclude that the gender gap in underemployment is mainly due to the different distribution of male and female workers across occupations and industries. Additionally, the different impact by gender that working in the same gender-typing jobs exerts on the risk of underemployment contributes to widening the gap.