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This paper intends to analyze the relationship between productive efficiency and innovation activity in Spain's wood-based industry. The methodology includes two levels of analysis. First, a non-parametric technique (data envelopment analysis, DEA) is applied with several inputs and outputs associated to economic and financial data. In a second stage, a logistic regression model explores the relationship between the property of efficiency and innovation activity indicators. This approach is used to analyze a set of firms in the following sectors: lumber and wood products, pulp and paper and wood furniture. Results do not show the existence of significant links between firm's efficiency and innovation activities. This outcome is consistent with a low firm priority toward R&D as a means to achieve competitiveness and an innovation strategy followed by many Spanish firms based on the acquisition of embodied technology available in international markets. In order to improve competitiveness in the long run, efforts should be made by Spanish wood-based firms to increase their production of in-house technologies.

Aim of study: Game species are considered a scarce natural resource and therefore they are subject to economic analysis. Current studies on factors affecting big game trends have mostly emphasized the impact of ecological supply variables. This study intends to expand this analysis by considering two important supply and demand economic parameters.Area of study: We use big game hunting in Spain from 1972 until 2007 as a case study since it has an important role in the European hunting activity.Material and methods: Different linear models were fitted to explain big game harvests as a function of two parameters not previously used: hunting grounds areas and big game firearm hunting licenses.Main results: Our main results show that up to 1989 the decrease in the area of open access territories significantly explains the increase in big game harvests, and that afterwards, once the hunting property rights were strengthen in most of the Spanish territory, the number of big game firearm licenses best explain big game harvests increments.Research highlights: This work shows an upward trend in Spanish harvests of big game, which can be attributed in part to (1) a shift to the right of big game demand, measured by an increase in big game firearm licenses, and (2) a change in the nature of big game supply (from a backward to an ordinary upward supply curve) due to the strengthening of hunting property rights of Spanish hunting grounds.

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Hunting is assuming a growing role in the current European forestry and agroforestry landscape. However, consistent statistical sources that provide quantitative information for policy-making, planning and management of game resources are often lacking. In addition, in many instances statistical information can be used without sufficient evaluation or criticism. Recently, the European Commission has declared the importance of high quality hunting statistics and the need to set up a common scheme in Europe for their collection, interpretation and proper use. This work aims to contribute to this current debate on hunting statistics in Europe by exploring data from the last 35 years of Spanish hunting statistics. The analysis focuses on the three major pillars underpinning hunting activity: hunters, hunting grounds and game animals. First, the study aims to provide a better understanding of official hunting statistics for use by researchers, game managers and other potential users. Second, the study highlights the major strengths and weaknesses of the statistical information that was collected. The results of the analysis indicate that official hunting statistics can be incomplete, dispersed and not always homogeneous over a long period of time. This is an issue of which one should be aware when using official hunting data for scientific or technical work. To improve statistical deficiencies associated with hunting data in Spain, our main suggestion is the adoption of a common protocol on data collection to which different regions agree. This protocol should be in accordance with future European hunting statistics and based on robust and well-informed data collection methods. Also it should expand the range of biological, ecological and economic concepts currently included to take account of the profound transformations experienced by the hunting sector in recent years. As much as possible, any future changes in the selection of hunting statistics should allow for comparisons between new variables with the previous ones.Key words: hunting; licenses; hunters; ranches; captures. Resumen Estadísticas oficiales de caza: el caso de España (1972-2007)La caza está cobrando un creciente protagonismo en los terrenos forestales y agroforestales europeos actuales. Por ello, resulta esencial contar con unas fuentes estadísticas consistentes, en muchos casos inexistentes, que proporcionen la información cuantitativa necesaria para la elaboración de políticas, la planificación y la gestión de los recursos cinegéticos disponibles. La Unión Europea ha manifestado recientemente el interés por la mejora de las estadís-ticas de caza y la necesidad de establecer un protocolo común europeo para la recogida y uso de las estadísticas de caza. Este trabajo pretende contribuir al debate sobre las mejora de las estadísticas de caza europeas mediante un aná-lisis crítico de las estadísticas oficiales nacionales de caza en España en los últimos 35 años. El análisis se centra sobre los tres grandes pilares que sustentan a la actividad ...