Article
Involuntary and dependent self-employment in Spain
Involuntary self-employment in Spain (21.7% of self-employed people) exceeded the European average (16.9%) in 2017. This study indicates that involuntary self-employment is common among young people and people with a low educational level.

Article
Do fathers spend more time with their children than they used to?
According to this study, in comparison with the year 2002, in 2010 there was an increase in the time that mothers, and even more so fathers, devoted to their children. Despite this, the gender gap persists.

Article
Why are there more early school leavers among migrant-background young people?
What role must teachers play to combat early leaving from education and training of young people of foreign origin? This study shows that their support is key and that they must count on the necessary resources for guiding pupils.

Article
The transition to post-compulsory education among students of immigrant origin in Catalonia
Some 23.5% of pupils of immigrant origin leave school in the transition between compulsory and post-compulsory education. We analyse the differences by pupils' migration status and sex.

Article
Temporary work and self-employment have a negative impact on workers’ wellbeing
Is the gig economy threatening workers’ wellbeing? The rise in temporary and self-employment, favoured by the digital platforms, seems to be affecting quality of life.

Article
Presence of foreign footballers and its impact on attitudes to immigration
Can football alter opinions on immigration? According to this study, among a club’s followers, when the team wins thanks to foreign players, immigration is perceived more positively.

Highlights

Personal well-being and the use of technology during lockdown
Article
Technology has played a key role in us continuing to work and study from home, but also in leisure and communication. We spent, on average, over 9 hours a day in front of screens. Does greater consumption mean more or less wellbeing?

Immigration: challenges and opportunities
Dossier
What challenges and opportunities are posed by immigration? The ninth Dossier from the Social Observatory of ”la Caixa” analyses why this phenomenon is key for the sustainability of depopulated areas in Spain and its impact on the education system.

Can algorithms expose tax fraud?
Article
Things are becoming increasingly difficult for tax evaders, with the new big data and artificial intelligence techniques that detect hidden wealth, the abuse of aggressive tax engineering and money laundering.
Reviews

Understanding immigration to coexist in the future
Immigration causes economic, political, and cultural changes in host societies. These two works propose intelligent, innovative, and collaborative solutions to tackle the challenges of immigration.

The high price of inequality: lessons on the costs and consequences of child poverty in advanced societies
The books reviewed here consider why it is important for everyone, and not just for the most vulnerable, to achieve more egalitarian societies.

Inequality: The Costs to Families
How do economic problems affect family stability? The books reviewed tackle changes in gender roles at work and the instability generated by socioeconomic inequality.
Barometer
Barometer
Context Indicators
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.

Barometer
Social Inclusion Indicators
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.

Barometer
Education Indicators
Where is education heading? In this section the Social Observatory of “la Caixa” presents a series of indicators are presented that are key to understanding the situation of education in our society. The majority have been built using data from international databases such as the European Social Survey (ESS) or the PISA Report, among others.

Barometer
Science, Innovation and Environment Indicators
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.

Barometer
Culture Indicators
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.

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