What Spain can teach the rest of Europe \ stacker news ~econ

pull down to refresh

Some good news from Europe? This piece sounds a bit too rosy, maybe, but it would be nice that a country that suffered most from 2008, might actually have learnt from that experience.

Most important, Spain shows that structural reforms bring long-term rewards. Much of its recent success reflects decisions after the financial crisis to reform its banks and labour market. The financial sector has consolidated, and labour-market reforms have made it easier to renegotiate contracts and encouraged bosses to take on more permanent staff. A package of measures aiming to boost renewables, including abolishing the “sun tax” that levied additional fees on solar power, has helped green energy boom.

Still, Spain must not rest easy. Tourism and immigration are bidding up house prices; investment and productivity growth remain elusive. An unwieldy and fragile coalition government is going in the wrong direction. It is unable to pass the further reforms needed to boost long-term growth, including in education and services. It is embracing fiddly regulations, driving up costs for businesses. It will need to find money to increase defence spending which, at just 1.3% of GDP, is much too low.

view all related items

133 sats \ 4 replies \ @pillar 13 Dec

I think any Spaniard would quickly debunk this rosy look at the Spanish economy.

Living standards never got back to where they where pre-2008. Real state market in big cities is starting to collapse in terms of people managing to access shelter. Pension system is set up as a full ponzi and is completely unsustainable, also being more generous that other more productive countries like Germany or Netherlands.

I think Spain is just as fucked as the rest of Western Europe.

110 sats \ 2 replies \ @Butterfinger 13 Dec

Yes, don't believe the ecnomist magazione, they are communists just as keynes, the pedophile.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 14 Dec

By the way, other than Saifedean's personal vendetta, is there any credible evidence about him being a pedophile? The most I could find is that he was gay and then turned bisexual in later years when he started pursuing women too.

Genuinely asking, it could very well be. But if not, I'd rather critique Keynes on his economic policies rather than (possibly invented) ad hominem attacks.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 13 Dec

#807767

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 13 Dec

Good to have a local perspective, thanks.

36 sats \ 6 replies \ @nikotsla 13 Dec

I don't want to learn or be force to communism... that is what Spain is teaching right now.

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 13 Dec

I'd be happy to engage, but let's correctly differentiate between socialism and communism.

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @jgbtc 13 Dec

Which one is in favor of seizing the means of production?

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 13 Dec

Which one is in favor of seizing the means of production?

Communism is likely the one that advocates most strongly for seizing the means of production. Not many countries have a communist system in place as advocated by Marx. Even countries like China that are officially communist follow many capitalist principles in terms of their economy.

Spain, from my perspective, is a capitalist democracy with socialist policies. Private property and markets, together with state-controlled services such as healthcare, education, welfare, etc. It's for sure not advocating for fully seizing the means of production.

5 sats \ 2 replies \ @jgbtc 13 Dec

So it's a difference of degree, not a difference of kind?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 14 Dec

Well, for me things are not black and white. So if you see things as either communist or non-communist (or equivalently, free-market or non-free-market), i.e. as binary, then, yes, it is a difference of degree.

But for me, there are more than just two such choices. There are dark side effects in choosing pure communism or in choosing pure free-market. My ideal world combines the good of both and avoids the bad of both. That is a difficult exercise.

A capitalist democracy with some socialist policies is one attempt at solving this exercise. It is far from a perfect solution. Similar to how pure communism or pure capitalism aren't perfect solutions either.

And I agree that pure communism will never ever be a good solution. It just doesn't fit with human nature. Plenty of examples on how all communist systems failed.

I respect your beliefs though. My beliefs are not purely rational, they are rooted in how I was brought up. I experienced the good of capitalism and I experienced the good of certain socialist policies.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nikotsla 13 Dec

This. The end game is the same for me.

139 sats \ 1 reply \ @Carresan 13 Dec

I live in Spain and I can comment. I haven’t got an economic background so, regarding macroeconomic considerations, my word could not be good enough.

However, in a daily basis, salaries are low and expenses are going higher and higher. Taxes are high in comparison with income, no matter what political parties say. I have lived in other countries and the tax pressure is higher in Spain.

Education needs fixing. Health needs fixing. Pensions need fixing. Meanwhile politicians are just worried about the next election and propaganda. On top of this, government is supported by forces that are seeking to become independent from Spain, so you can imagine what they are trying to get from the government.

Also, youth people are leaving the country seeking opportunities elsewhere.

In conclusion, beware of this nice picture.

15 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 14 Dec

Thank you very much for your testimony. I'll beware of the rosy picture painted in the linked article.

137 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 13 Dec

Appreciate that you found a non-paywall version for us haha.

Glad to know that things are looking up for Spain because i think it has been suffering from a high youth unemployment rate for the longest time.

Chinese firms are planting roots everywhere in the world!

Keen to know @riberet19 n @Carresan’s perspective on this

132 sats \ 1 reply \ @kristapsk 16 Dec

country that suffered most from 2008

Not really, if you look at GDP numbers, countries like Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine suffered more.

https://bigeconomics.org/the-countries-most-and-least-affected-by-the-2008-financial-crisis/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16ktI7mwZVyuUGa5mkT6Bg8W4PopBwMwhxiJx0ET6DTc/edit

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 16 Dec

Thanks for clarifying. I should not base this kind of argument on gut-feeling when numbers are available.

125 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 13 Dec

I like reading them now and again. Usually some interesting tidbits (#806118), and among the plethora of crap out there in magazineland, they're the least bad -- and the one with venerable history that I would save in a heartbeat come the full bitcoin revolution.

Also, I guess, answers the question of what I'd spend a a gazillion bitcoin on (psst, @Shugard -- I found something!)

111 sats \ 1 reply \ @clr 13 Dec

Debt-to-GDP is 104.4% (today's news). It's a mirage. When the music stops, we'll see what happens.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 13 Dec

That sounds pretty concerning indeed, but to assess how critical it is, one would need to know at what interest rates Spain has been able to borrow money... also has it increased dramatically or has it been hovering around this number for years/decades, i.e. how sustainable has the debt been?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @000w2 13 Dec

The Economist is a Rothschild propaganda rag. Don't take it seriously. It's meant to funnel the masses into societies with ever increasing globalist banker capture.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Butterfinger 13 Dec

https://stitcher2.acast.com/livestitches/699ca4e96fd5c5e0e221886bb51c7eea.mp3?aid=675b7042b8324e024fa73301&chid=62754272a1fc7500122b7822&ci=LuaMHYKSvQKtdTEhv6ggTrIz8JzOLPmo7JwfQ6GpUDGywQsQxtmrlg%3D%3D&pf=rss&sv=sphinx%401.226.0&uid=0b8e2988aca5a104f30b6af9f338b776&Expires=1734096114435&Key-Pair-Id=K38CTQXUSD0VVB&Signature=VJ1BVMzBcU6Pboiyla9OLHXm4bTd0Bj4ygMhp6hZsEEmuua1eKiXtzchHLZv87qa7N2qqKyx4wQdKSIwoDNFk49VetCPs6hF8vCiq76mrM6csYI3dC1w ~YO~1mOpcKKkoKocHDEE7OMnRhRKOOoqo9DM5cACPUEpwgeMiIczxcEERbvEDRanCcqOWRSS~iDWtbzx2ueZy9Rom3D0dcwYKRDpMGH5PCIPORvNJxjf4zUoN8bAt-KXfzYy92aT9xpV1imbiZVJwO8ShO-u8VIwPeyizcB8D0VvdWEtJgqirrVAfDIC0SEMmD4z3yc9kh7~O-3UsKB3sqBWkTUp46vWuA__

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Shugard 13 Dec

including abolishing the “sun tax” that levied additional fees on solar power,

I'm for lowering taxes

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @clr 13 Dec

The sun tax was outrageous.

Imagine having your own garden/farm and being forced to pay a tax because now you are buying less or no groceries at the market.