Ana Serrano | University of Zaragoza (original) (raw)

Papers by Ana Serrano

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2014

ABSTRACT The study of the environmental footprints of various sectors and industries is increasin... more ABSTRACT The study of the environmental footprints of various sectors and industries is increasingly demanded by institutions and by society. In this context, the regional perspective is becoming particularly important, and even more so in countries such as Spain, where the autonomous communities have the primary responsibility for implementing measures to combat environmental degradation and promote sustainable development, in coordination with national strategies. Taking as a case study a Spanish region, Aragon, and significant economic sectors, including agriculture and the food industry, the aim of this work is twofold. First, we calculate the associated environmental footprints (of emissions and water) from the dual perspectives of production (local impacts) and consumption (final destination of the goods produced by the agri-food industry). Second, through a scenarios analysis, based on a general equilibrium model designed and calibrated specifically for the region, we evaluate the environmental implications of changes in the agri-food industry (changes in the export and import pattern, as well as in consumer behavior). This model provides a flexible approximation to the environmental impacts, controlling for a wider range of behavioral and economic interactions. Our results indicate that the agri-food industry has a significant impact on the environment, especially on water resources, which must be responsibly managed in order to maintain the differential advantage that a regional economy can have, compared to other territories.

Regional Environmental Change, 2015

ABSTRACT Beginning in 1960, the Spanish agricultural sector underwent an intensive process of dev... more ABSTRACT Beginning in 1960, the Spanish agricultural sector underwent an intensive process of development, resulting in important structural changes, not only in the sector itself, but also in the relationship of the agrarian system to natural resources. These changes were closely related to the growth of per capita income and Spain’s increasing integration into international markets. In the last five decades, the volume of Spanish agricultural trade has increased strongly, with a concomitant increase in the consumption of domestic water resources, requiring the construction of water infrastructure for irrigation. This paper examines the impact on water use in Spain during a period of economic modernization and trade liberalization. More specifically, we are interested in obtaining virtual water trade flow trends and identifying the major drivers responsible for these trajectories, via a decomposition analysis. Our results point to a large increase in virtual water exports and imports, primarily driven by the scale effect, that is, by the growing integration into international markets. The composition effect and changes in water intensity entailed a moderation in water consumption.

Ecological Economics, 2014

ABSTRACT This paper aims to analyse the impact on water consumption of trade expansion in the ﬁrs... more ABSTRACT This paper aims to analyse the impact on water consumption of trade expansion in the ﬁrst era of globalisation. To that end, we have chosen the case of Spain, a semi-arid country with signiﬁcant cyclical water shortages. More speciﬁcally, we are interested in answering the following questions. What volume of water was required for exports of agricultural and food products? How did this variable evolve over time? Which factors drove this evolution? In short, we wish to understand the impact on water resources of Spain's entry into world agriculture and food markets. Firstly, we examine virtual water trade ﬂows in the long run. Secondly, we attempt to disentangle certain major driving forces underlying these trajectories. In order to establish the role played by trade in the ﬁnal net balance of water, a Decomposition Analysis (DA) is applied. Our ﬁndings show the great pressures that the ﬁrst globalisation imposed on not only domestic but also foreign water resources. Trade volumes as well as trade patterns were essential factors driving rising virtual water ﬂows, while yield improvements contributed smoothly to moderation in the expansion of water ows.

Ecological Economics, 100, 96-105, Mar 2014

This paper aims to analyse the impact on water consumption of trade expansion in the ﬁrst era of ... more This paper aims to analyse the impact on water consumption of trade expansion in the ﬁrst era of globalisation. To
that end, we have chosen the case of Spain, a semi-arid country with signiﬁcant cyclical water shortages.
More speciﬁcally, we are interested in answering the following questions. What volume of water was required
for exports of agricultural and food products? How did this variable evolve over time? Which factors drove
this evolution? In short, we wish to understand the impact on water resources of Spain's entry into world
agriculture and food markets.
Firstly, we examine virtual water trade ﬂows in the long run. Secondly, we attempt to disentangle certain major
driving forces underlying these trajectories. In order to establish the role played by trade in the ﬁnal net balance
of water, a Decomposition Analysis (DA) is applied. Our ﬁndings show the great pressures that the ﬁrst
globalisation imposed on not only domestic but also foreign water resources. Trade volumes as well as trade
patterns were essential factors driving rising virtual water ﬂows, while yield improvements contributed
smoothly to moderation in the expansion of water ﬂows.

Applied Economics, 46,2, pp. 212-224, 2014

""Recent research has examined the relationship between natural resources and economic growth. Co... more ""Recent research has examined the relationship between natural resources and economic growth. Considered vitally important, not only for humanity’s well-being but also for ecosystem integrity, the relationship between water use and economic growth has traditionally garnered little attention by analysts. This paper studies water use trends from 1900 to 2000 throughout the world, and their main determinants. To do this, we first analyse historical water use trajectories. Second, to proceed with the determinants of water use, we reformulate the IPAT equation (Ehrlich and Holdren, 1971; Commoner et al. 1971), decomposing water use trends into changes in economic demands and in water use intensity. Finally, a simple scenario analysis is conducted, to project future water use trends under different economic, demographic and technological assumptions.
The empirical evidence shows that economic and population growth have been crucial for explaining the increase in water use over the past 100 years, with significant regional differences. Nevertheless, the decline in water use intensity has been responsible for a significant reduction in the growth of total water use.""

Working Papers Asociacion Española de Historia Economica 1419, Oct 2014

This work discusses how natural resource scarcity (aridity, in the case of Spanish agriculture) e... more This work discusses how natural resource scarcity (aridity, in the case of Spanish agriculture) encouraged the process of frontier expansion defined by Barbier, meaning the exploitation of new, relatively abundant resources (water) for production purposes. Water for irrigated agriculture was obtained from both ground sources, identified as 'vertically downward' sources (i.e. wells, which were mainly funded by private initiative), and 'horizontally extensive' surface sources, such as dams and canals, primarily paid for by the public sector. Although the processes involved in obtaining water can be traced back over the centuries, it was really not until the 20th century when they became truly important. The growth of agricultural production was deeply influenced by this process. The main result is the mismatch between areas of high current agricultural productivity, and better initial endowment of natural resources.

Ecological Economics, 108, 200-207, Nov 2014

From 1860 the Spanish agricultural sector has gone through an intensive process of development re... more From 1860 the Spanish agricultural sector has gone through an intensive process of development resulting in important structural changes, not only in the sector itself, but also regarding the relationship of the agrarian system with natural resources. These changes were closely related to the growing per capita income in the long term, an increasing degree of integration in international markets and profound political changes. During the last 150 years, the volume of Spanish agricultural production experienced a great increase, notably affecting the consumption of domestic water resources and entailing the need for the construction of waterworks, key for the development of irrigation. In this context, this paper studies the evolution of domestic water consumption as a consequence of the increasing agricultural production, as well as the impact that the growing needs for water had on the construction of infrastructure for irrigation. To that aim, we estimate the water footprint of the Spanish agricultural sector, that is, we will try to obtain the water consumed in the production of vegetal and animal goods for five different years: 1860, 1900, 1930, 1962 and 2010. From these results, a detailed analysis of the trends on water consumption and changes in compositional patterns is carried out. Moreover, we collect the available information on the building of new irrigation infrastructure to examine to what extent the development of the agricultural sector conditioned the construction of new irrigation infrastructure. Finally, a Decomposition Analysis (DA) is applied to analytically identify and quantify the main explaining factors behind the evolution followed by the increase in agricultural water consumption in the long term.

Documentos de Trabajo de la Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad de Zaragoza, Mar 19, 2015

Agricultural and food products have been increasingly exchanged during the last half century. Wi... more Agricultural and food products have been increasingly exchanged during the last half century. With them, water has been virtually transferred among countries.
Thus, this paper studies the evolution of virtual water flows on the long term, analyzing the main factors driving them by means of a Decomposition Analysis. In particular, our study points at a gradual increase in virtual water consumption as a result of agricultural and food products trade in the world from 1965 to 2010. At the global level, the increase in the volume of trade has been the main factor driving water
consumption increase.

In the context of a relatively scarce water country, the article analyzes the changes in 50 years... more In the context of a relatively scarce water country, the article analyzes the changes in 50 years in the water footprint (WF) in Spain evaluating its sustainability. For that purpose, firstly we make use of the regional information of the water footprints and crop production to estimate the WF of production over the 50 provinces in Spain, looking at the variation between the years 1955 and 2005–2010. The detail in the information of crops (more than 150 of them) statistics allows us to examine the types and origin of changes (in volume produced, shifts towards more or less water intensive crops). Secondly, we estimate sustainability indicators also at the provincial level, which let us evaluate whether this change has created or incremented the risk of physical and economic water stress. Thirdly, we introduce the economic perspective, providing evidence on the infrastructures built and public sector expenditure, as an approximation to the costs of the increases in WF, particularly meaningful for those water stressed areas.

Documentos de trabajo de la Asociación Española de Historia Económica, 2011

Resumen: Recent research has examined the relationship between natural resources and economic gro... more Resumen: Recent research has examined the relationship between natural resources and economic growth. Considered vitally important, not only for humanity s well-being but also for ecosystem integrity, the relationship between water use and economic growth has traditionally garnered little attention by analysts. This paper studies water use trends from 1900 to 2000 throughout the world, and their main determinants. To do this, we first analyse historical water use trajectories. Second, to proceed with the determinants of water use, ...

The study of the impact of economic activities on natural resources through global supply chains... more The study of the impact of economic activities on natural resources through global
supply chains is increasingly demanded in the context of the growing globalization of economies
and product fragmentation. Taking Spain as a case study and a sector with significant economic
and environmental impacts, the agri-food industry, the objective of this work is two-fold.
First, we estimate the associated water impact, both from the production and consumption
perspectives, paying special attention to the water embodied in production exchanges among
countries and sectors. To that aim, we use an environmentally-extended multiregional
input-output model (MRIO). Second, we assess the main driving factors behind changes in
direct and embodied water consumption between the years 1995 and 2009 by means of a
structural decomposition analysis. The MRIO model provides a comprehensive estimate of
the economic linkages among regions and economic sectors and, therefore, allows calculating
the environmental impacts over international value chains. The results indicate that the food
industry exerts large impacts on global water resources, particularly given the remarkable
interactions with the domestic and foreign agricultural sectors, These growing linkages show
how consumption patterns, and, therefore, lifestyles, involve large environmental impacts
through the whole and global supply chains.