The economic crisis experienced by Spain has led to increasing numbers of young people opting to prolong their education given the lack of job prospects. This fact has caused overqualification among young people and the consolidation of unemployment.

How can we ensure that biomedical research is aligned with social needs? This article from the Social Observatory of “la Caixa” analyses how resources could be assigned efficiently.

Has the protection of children and young people decreased over the last decade? In many European countries the child poverty rate is higher than the poverty rate among people aged over 64 years. This divergence is especially pronounced in Spain.

Today, thanks to policies aimed at reconciling working life and family life, increasing numbers of men are taking parental leave to be able to raise their newborn children. These new policies represent progress towards gender equality, but in Spain a significant difference still exists between men and women in the usage they make of parental leave entitlements.

How should migration within the European context be studied? These two books, from the standpoints of gender and rurality, tackle a phenomenon previously studied above all in urban contexts with male protagonists. With these new perspectives, the scientific view offers extra depth to an issue of recent social importance.

Increasingly, the inhabitants of the suburbs have been choosing not to go and vote. What are the reasons that explain such extreme abstention by this collective in electoral processes? Has the new politics managed to draw greater participation from the more disadvantaged areas?

Atmospheric contamination causes 7 million deaths every year. María Neira, director of the WHO department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, explains how policies focusing on improving people’s health also benefit the planet.

Has mass access of Spaniards to intermediate and higher education been associated with a deterioration in the quality of educational qualifications, as some international bodies have warned?

Despite its perception in recent years, education continues to be a very effective vehicle for social promotion, as well as a more significant factor than social origin in providing access to the professional classes.

Víctor Fernández Blanco builds up a diagnosis regarding cultural participation, highlighting the different consumer profiles and the changes that these reflect in their behaviours and routines. 

In this interview David Throsby, a specialist in the economics of art and culture, offers a global view of what the concepts of culture and art mean, including their value as well as the relationship that these disciplines have with the economy. 

Tackling growing inequality in income distribution and wealth is a social challenge that demands an innovative approach. Academic Anthony B. Atkinson proposes 15 actions that combine old policies with new instruments.

John Knox, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, explains how climate change is endangering the right to life, health, water, food, housing, development and self-determination. 

With the aim of improving parental access to the labour market, the Council of Europe is working towards all countries in the European Union achieving 33% of children enrolled in pre-school education.

On average, men earn more than women for the same jobs. However, although the crisis reduced average salaries for everyone, the related growth in unemployment affected men more than women.

The higher the level of education, the bigger the salary? Effectively, in 2015, the earnings of people with higher education qualifications were, on average, nearly 38% higher than those of people who had only completed intermediate education.

What does the level of studies attained tell us about the structure of a society? Our country has a very high proportion of university graduates, but also a large percentage of people who have completed only primary education.

How many students of immigrant origin are enrolled in the education system? During the 2014-2015 academic year in Spain, they represented 8.6% of total students, a low proportion in comparison with many other European countries

Sometimes it is difficult to translate the language of international bodies that we use on a daily basis. What are the equivalences between the ISCED educational levels used by the UNESCO and the system used in Spain?

What is the cause behind such a high disparity in the participation rates in cultural offerings financed using public funds? Does this have a direct relationship with the population’s level of education?

In today’s society, certain products or services are considered as necessary to lead an adequate life in line with the current social reality. The impossibility of accessing some of these products or services is used as an indicator of material deprivation. 

Good parenting is fundamental for children’s development. How does parental dedication differ between social groups? Knowing the answer is essential if we want an equal society.

Can education reduce social inequality? These two books, which talk to us about the theory of multiple intelligences and the importance of passion and perseverance, propose educational options for working in this direction.

Research is a potential driving force for promoting economic growth and social welfare. What is the relative effort in research that different countries make? What economic activities are related to that research? This set of indicators provides an introduction to the history of research and innovation in various countries.

How is our country positioned in cultural questions? Understanding culture in its broadest form, the indicators presented by the Social Observatory of “la Caixa” in this section allow us to interpret how culture is interrelated, within a European context, with today’s social and economic reality.

What is the country’s socioeconomic situation? The Social Observatory of “la Caixa” includes in this section a series of indicators that offer a current-day snapshot of the relationship between the economy and people, analysing aspects such as the composition of households or labour market access in comparison with the societies of peer countries.

Using a series of basic indicators and synthetic indicators on social, demographic and economic issues, this section of the Social Observatory of “la Caixa” offers a view in figures of the social reality of Spain within the European and international context.

Increasingly, certain areas of research – such as biomedicine – incorporate the sex and gender dimension into their projects. However, despite its relevance, this question continues to be a pending assignment in the majority of cases.