Impact of Generative AI on University Students’ Digital Competences: Experimental Evidence Based on the DigComp Framework with Nina Pallarés. RIED - Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 29(1), 2026. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.45533
This study analyzes the impact of the formative use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the development of digital competencies in university students. The intervention was implemented through a randomized controlled trial research design. The experimental group received training aimed at strategically using generative AI models to complete academic tasks, while the control group carried out the same activities without specific AI guidance. The impact was assessed using a difference-in-differences model with fixed effects, based on pre-and post intervention questionnaires. Competences were analyzed according to the European DigComp 2.2 framework, covering four main competence areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, safety, and problem solving. The results show statistically significant improvements in information and data literacy and in problem solving, both in their functional and metacognitive dimensions. Differential effects were also identified depending on the initial level of digital competence, with more pronounced gains among students with lower prior proficiency, who showed significant progress across all evaluated competencies. These findings suggest a compensatory effect of the didactic use of AI, capable of reducing gaps and promoting more equitable and inclusive learning processes. The study supports the guided integration of emerging technologies in higher education to strengthen digital competencies.
Media coverage:
Fiscal consolidation in heavily indebted economies. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 173, 105046, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2025.105046
In this paper, I build a dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated to the U.S. economy to study the macroeconomic effects of alternative fiscal consolidation strategies in a context where the private sector is heavily indebted. Fiscal consolidation is defined as a permanent reduction of the public debt-to-GDP ratio through government spending cuts or tax hikes. I show that in the long run, fiscal consolidation entails output benefits that are dampened when private debt is high. This effect occurs independently of the fiscal instrument used to stabilize the debt. In the short run, I find that a fiscal policy that raises labor or capital tax rates induces deleveraging in the private sector, which amplifies temporary output losses due to fiscal consolidation policies. By contrast, a fiscal consolidation achieved by government spending cuts or consumption tax hikes facilitates the repayment of private debt, thereby mitigating the negative output effect associated with a public debt reduction. Finally, regarding social welfare, I find that a fiscal consolidation brings higher welfare gains when government spending or consumption tax rates adjust in an environment of high private debt. However, it increases the social welfare loss when capital or labor tax rates adjust to meet the public debt target.
Uso de IA generativa para el desarrollo de competencias digitales universitarias: Manual de implementación para docentes with Nina Pallarés. Universidad Católica San Antonio, 2025, ISBN: 978-84-18579-00-4.
Adaptive Self-assessment Through the Virtual Campus: A Tool to Improve the Teaching–learning Process with Nina Pallarés. In Teaching Innovations in Economics: Towards a Sustainable World (PP. 99-124 ), SPRINGER, 2024, ISBN: 978-3-031-72548-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72549-4_5
La autoevaluación adaptada: Una herramienta digital en la asignatura de econometría aplicada al marketing. En Educación 360: emociones, tecnología, evaluación e inclusión en la era digital, DYKINSON, 2024, ISBN 978-84-1070-059-8, págs. 325-340
Informe de la situación de los hogares de la Región de Murcia en tiempos de COVID-19 with Moisés Meroño Herranz and Vita Zhukova. ARANZADI, 2021, ISBN: 978-84-1391-287-5, págs, 25-39.
Private debt and the size of the fiscal multipliers, joint with Francesco Turino.
Macroprudential Policies in a Model with Underground Economy, joint with Moisés Meroño Herranz and Francesco Turino.
The Effect of AI and Formative Feedback on Student Learning in Microeconomics. Joint with Nina Pallarés.