Fitxa persona

María José Murgui-García is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economic Analysis at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Valencia since 2003. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Valencia, where she was awarded the Extraordinary Doctorate Award (2001). Her fields of interest include regional economics; growth and inequality; investment theory; the measurement of capital and endogenous depreciation; natural capital; and tourism economics.

A first line of her research focuses on regional growth and convergence, analyzing how infrastructure, human capital, market regulation, and European policies influence investment and productivity. A second line centers on the measurement of capital stock using an endogenous depreciation rate derived from a dynamic optimization model of the firm. This methodology has enabled the construction of economic measures of capital stock for Spain, its regions, and the United States, and has been applied to the study of the productivity paradox and regional economic resilience. A more recent line of research develops a model of tourist behavior that distinguishes between the market for goods and services and the accommodation market, allowing for the estimation of demand elasticities and the identification of the socioeconomic profile of different types of tourists. This framework also provides a bridge to her broader research on economic growth and natural capital.

She is currently involved in several competitive research projects funded by the Spanish government, including “Technology, Human Capital, Innovation, Trade and Energy” (PID2022-138706NB-I00, 2023–2026) and “Territory and State: A Historical Analysis of Regional Inequality in Spain, Southwestern Europe and Latin America” (PID2021-127636NB-I00, 2021–2024). She has been awarded four research productivity periods (sexenios de investigación).