The recovery of the Spanish economy has shown strong growth in more than just GDP. Exports of goods and services have grown considerably from 25.6% of GDP to 34.4% between 2010 and 2017, while employment has also shown notable growth (1.9 million more people in work since Q2 2014). This increase in exports is not only helping to create jobs, but whatsmore, to improve the quality of employment.
William Chislett (Elcano Royal Institute) | Spain was ranked 11th out of 110 countries in the 2017 Elcano Global Presence Index, which measures the results of internationalisation, up from 12th in 2016
J. L.M.Campuzano | Spanish household debt continued to reduce in 2017, reaching 61% of GDP (down 3%), according to the Bank of Spain. It has fallen 24% since its máximum level reached in 2010. Company debt at the end of the year amounted to 78% of GDP, with a fall of 5% over 2016. Company debt has fallen 39% since its maximums.
After reaching a low point in 2014, house prices in Spain have now been on the rise for several years. As noted by CaixaBank’s strategists, this notable increase in house prices in major cities, especially if compared with the price trends in other areas, is a common phenomenon in many countries.
Luis Alcaide | Pedro Sánchez will be monitored from every corner to see if he can count on the collaboration of a Spanish administration more independent than in the past. He will have to manage budgetary imbalances and growth of public debt. Furthermre, his fellow citizens rate corruption, after unemployment, their greatest concern.
Guy Hedgecoe | Fixation with electoral numbers is one of the most unhealthy obsessions of contemporary Spanish politics. It’s a mindset that places enormous emphasis on victory at the ballot box, in the belief that it will bring with it not just political power, but moral righteousness.
Fernando G. Urbaneja | Mariano Rajoy has left the Moncloa to be replaced by the socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, who 10 days before couldn´t have imagined a substitution so rapid or so brutal. However, Spain’s problems remain: whether the demands for Catalan independence and other nationalist forces that threaten the constitution and national unity, or the urgent need for profound reforms in the welfare system and the management of public accounts, threatened by the deficit and the debt.
J.P. Marín Arrese | PM Pedro Sánchez will govern backed by a weak minority party. There will be little respite from either those who voted for him or those who voted against him. No one expects the new Spanish government can deliver any substantive policies. Yet, such an isolated and weak position can also be a valuable asset.
The number of jobless people registered in the public employment services’ offices fell by 83,738 in May compared to the previous month (-2.5%). The total number of unemployed stood at 3.25 million end-May.
Raimundo Poveda | The Spanish pension system is one more which exists in the OECD and, probably, not one of the worst. Neither are its problems very original. Just like in other countries in the club, the financial hardships which were the result of the Big Recession led to cuts. These were implemented in 2011 by the PSOE, with the PP causing a big scandal, then in 2013 by the PP, with the roles reversed.