PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the production function nexus between higher education practice and the development of innovation‐related competencies by university graduates in Spain. The research hypothesis is the presence of statistically significant relationships between the development of innovational competencies and the modes of teaching and learning used in higher education practice.Design/methodology/approachThe relationships are modeled through a set of stochastic frontier and variance component equations with the development of each competency as the dependent variable. The main explanatory variables capture the prevalence of diverse teaching/learning modes and the behavior of graduates during their studies. Controls for individual and study programs are also included. Data comes from the European graduate survey REFLEX and includes about 5,500 records.FindingsEstimates show evidence of significant marginal effects of the teaching and learning modes and the development of specific competencies by graduates. Proactive methods in general, and problem‐based learning in particular, appear as the most effective classroom practices to develop the competencies required to innovate in the workplace.Research limitations/implicationsTo guide the implementation of reforms in higher education, more must be learned about possible trade‐offs between the diverse types of resources involved and the outcomes obtained. Resources should be examined in terms of their relative costs and the results interpreted with regard to their value to individuals and society.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to explore quantitatively the influence of higher education practice on the development of the capabilities required to innovate in the workplace.

The severity of eating disorder symptoms and interest in weight reduction vary among cultures and nationalities. The present study is the first to directly compare the extent of these problems between two Western nations. Although several reports have emerged from other European countries, this is the first study of eating disorder symptoms among Spanish youth. There were more American girls with bulimia nervosa symptoms; the overall level of eating disorder symptoms was higher among the Americans; and more American girls were interested in losing weight. Bulimia was equally rare among Spanish and American boys, American boys were more interested in changing their weight, and Spanish boys had higher scores on a questionnaire of eating disorder symptoms. Although statistically different, subjects in both countries scored close to the norm on the eating disorder questionnaire.

The changing relationships between the G-7 countries are examined through VAR models for quarterly growth, estimated over sub-periods and using a rolling data window. Trivariate models are employed, each including the US and a European (E15) aggregate. The results show that conditional volatility of growth has declined relatively more since 1980 for E15 than for the US, aggregate European shocks have increased impact on “core†European countries from around 1980, the effects of the US on Europe are largest during the 1970s and the late 1990s, and E15 has a steadily increasing impact on the US economy over time. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006european integration, international business cycle, time variation and volatility,

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