About Us

AQR-Lab is an Applied Economics Laboratory mainly composed of academics in the field of applied economics, which provides services to both public administrations and private firms.

The origin of AQR-Lab is to conduct the activities of knowledge transfer which were carried out by the members of the AQR research group in the University of Barcelona until 2012.

The knowledge transfer services that AQR-Lab offers are: Projects and studies of collaboration, Specialized training Services - training activities; Support Services to external research.

AQR-Lab carries on its activity through the “Fundació Bosch i Gimpera” and the University of Barcelona.

Objectives

The objective of AQR-Lab is to carry out transfer activities in the field of applied economics while maintaining the highest levels of quality required in a university laboratory.

The knowledge transfer services that AQR-Lab give are Collaboration Projects and Agreements; Specialized Training Services - Training Courses; Statistical and econometric support to people, institutions and companies.
Is necessary to understand how knowledge transfer projects have the ultimate goal of providing results around a specific topic in which an institution, whether national or international, is interested.
Is necessary to understand such as Specialized Training Services - Training Courses, training courses or seminars, both on quantitative techniques and on topics in which AQR-Lab members have expertise. Specific courses are specially made, for institutions that want to train their staff.
Is necessary to understand as Statistical and econometric support to people, institutions and companies, those activities in which AQR-Lab is offered to be hired for the application of its expertise in techniques and topics in which AQR-Lab is specialized.

Work lines – Specializations

Economic Impact Studies

We undertake quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the impact of public and private investment programs and economic policy measures, quantifications of the impact for a given sector, firm or economic good on the rest of the economy, and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses applied to all areas and sectors, including infrastructure, health, etc.

Macroeconomic forecasts and simulations and monitoring of the economy

We make macroeconomic forecasts and simulations of the main economic variables, analysing GDP and its components in terms of supply and demand, labour market, foreign sector, prices, output gap, etc.

Public policy evaluation

We have extensive experience in public policy evaluation, including studies of: active employment policies; policies promoting innovation throughout the EU; the investment return of Public Research Projects in Europe; the effectiveness of policies promoting business competitiveness and support to firms; university performance; trade regulations, etc.

Intangible assets and regional growth

We conduct studies of the intangibles that influence regional economic growth: mainly the generation and diffusion of innovation and human capital, but we are also interested in the effects of knowledge, social capital and entrepreneurship. We analyse these determinants and the channels through which these factors influence growth.

Regional and urban strategic indicators

To monitor any given spatial area, and its planning policies, a set of indicators are needed to understand their key features. We provide local and regional strategic indicators of economic specialization, quality of life, etc., as well as indicators of foreign market competitiveness.

Survey design and management

Often, it is necessary to conduct surveys and the ulterior statistical analysis of the data they provide, to further understand a given economic problem. We can offer broad experience in this field.

Analysis of specific economic sectors

We undertake studies of different economic sectors, including tourism, the automobile industry, trade, textiles, and real estate, to provide a detailed picture of their current performance and future prospects.

Members

For each project, we constitute a team of work, which is coordinated and directed for members of the team.

Management

Dr. Jordi Suriñach i Caralt Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation
Labour Market
Innovationa and Regional Growth
Educational Studies
Applied economics

Letter from the director

jsurinach@ub.edu
934020545, 934021980

Standing Committee

Dr. Miquel Clar López Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
AppliedEconometrics
Economy of theEducation

mclar@ub.edu
934024323
Dr. Jordi López-Tamayo Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
SpatialEconometrics
LabourMarket
Social Indicators

jlt_lopez@ub.edu
934024323
Dra. Rosina Moreno Serrano Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Innovation
SpatialEconometrics

rmoreno@ub.edu
934021823
Dr. Joaquim Murillo Viu Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Exploitation of survey
Economic impact

j.murillo@ub.edu
934021985
Dra. Esther Vayá Valcarce Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Spatial Econometrics
Innovation and regional externalities
Economicimpactstudies

evaya@ub.edu
934037042

Members

Dra. Esther Vayà Valcarce Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Spatial Econometrics
Innovation and regional externalities
Economic impact studies

evaya@ub.edu
934037042
Dr. Jordi Suriñach Caralt Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation
Labour Market
Innovationa and Regional Growth
Educational Studies
Applied economics

jsurinach@ub.edu
934020545, 934021980
Dr. Vicente Royuela Mora Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Urban Economics
Labour Market
Regional Economic Growth
Quality of Life Research

vroyuela@ub.edu
934035732
Dr. Javier Romaní Fernández Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation Qualitative and social impact
Exploitation of surveys
Mobility

romani@ub.edu
934020418
Dra. Maria Carme Riera Prunera Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Education
Labour Market
Inequality and economic growth
Deficit and debt

mcriera-prunera@ub.edu
934037038
Dr. Raül Ramos Lobo Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Spatial Econometrics
Regional labour markets
Human capital
Inequality

rramos@ub.edu
934024310
Dr. Ernest Pons Fanals Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Time Series
Econometrics
Higher education

epons@ub.edu
934020419
Dr. Joaquín Murillo Viu Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation Exploitation of surveys
Economic impact

j.murillo@ub.edu
934021985
Dra. Elisabet Motellón Corral Professional category Adjunt Lecturer

Lines of investigation
Labour Market
Regional Economics
Quantitative Methods

emotellon@ub.edu
934021011
Dra. Rosina Moreno Serrano Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Innovation
Spatial Econometrics

rmoreno@ub.edu
934021823
Dra. Alessia Matano Professional category Lecturer

Lines of investigation
Labour Economics
Wage Inequality
Spatial Economics
International Trade

amatano@ub.edu
934020864
Dr. Jordi López Tamayo Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Spatial Econometrics
Labour Market
Social Indicators

jlt_lopez@ub.edu
934020420
Dr. Enrique López Bazo Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Labour Markets
Human Capital and Innovation
Applied Spatial Econometrics

elopez@ub.edu
934037041
Dr. Francisco Llorente Galera Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Motor Industry
Business innovation
Labor organization

fllorente@ub.edu
934035942
Dr. José Ramón García Sanchis Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation Measuring the Economic impact
Offshoring and Task Trade
Firm demography

jrgarcia@ub.edu
934021012
Dr. Juan Carlos Duque Cardona Professional category

Lines of investigation
Data treatment

jrgarcia@ub.edu
934021012
Dr. Antonio Di Paolo Professional category Lecturer

Lines of investigation Labour Economics
Education Economics
Regional and Urban Economics
Applied Microeconometrics

antonio.dipaolo@ub.edu
934037150
Dr. Miquel Clar López Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation
Regional Growth
Applied Econometrics
Economy of the Education

mclar@ub.edu
934024323
Dr. Josep Lluís Carrion-i-Silvestre Professional category University Professor

Lines of investigation Structural change
Cointegration analysis
Panel data
Regional growth

carrion@ub.edu
934024598
Dra. Mª Encarnación André Romero Professional category Associate Professor

Lines of investigation Tourism

andre@ub.edu
934020233