Table Of ContentThe Political Economy of
Contemporary Spain
The so-called ‘Spanish miracle’, beginning in the mid-1990s, eventually became
a nightmare for the majority of the population, culminating in the present-day
economic and political crisis. This book explores the main features of the Spanish
political-economic model during both the growth and crisis periods.
Analyzing the causes and consequences of the continuing economic crisis
in Spain, this book delves into five analytical axes: the evolution of the growth
model; the role of Spain in the international division of labor; the financial sector
and its influence on the rest of the economy; changes in the labor market; and
the distributional consequences of both the expansive phase and the later crisis.
Furthermore, contributors examine the formation of a triangle of actors (the
government sector, building sector, and financial capital) that shaped the Spanish
growth model, together with the effects of Spain’s membership in the Economic
and Monetary Union. Also considering ecological problems, gender issues, and
the immigration question, this book challenges the alleged recovery of living
conditions during recent years, as well as the explanation of the crisis as the result
of irrational behaviors or the greedy nature of certain actors.
The Political Economy of Contemporary Spain provides a coherent explanation
of the Spanish economic crisis based on a pluralistic approach, while proposing
several measures that could contribute to a transformation of Spain’s economic
and social models.
Luis Buendía is Assistant Professor of Public Economics and Political Economy
at the University of León, Spain. Since 2014, he has taken part in a project on the
crisis in Southern Europe, financed by the Sheffield Political Economy Research
Institute, and he has also been a member of the Steering Committee of the
Asociación de Economía Crítica (Critical Economics Association).
Ricardo Molero-Simarro is Honorary Fellow at the Department of Applied
Economics I (International Economics and Development) of the Complutense
University of Madrid, Spain. He has also been a researcher at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, UK, and the Peking University, China. His lines
of research include aspects of income inequality, as well as monetary systems.
In 2014, he was invited as a speaker to the Labour Economics after the Crisis
Conference organized by the European Commission.
Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy
230 Money as a Social Institution
The Institutional Development of Capitalism
Ann E. Davis
231 Remaking Market Society
A Critique of Social Theory and Political Economy in Neoliberal Times
Antonino Palumbo and Alan Scott
232 Political Economy as Natural Theology
Smith, Malthus and Their Followers
Paul Oslington
233 Sharing Economies in Times of Crisis
Practices, Politics and Possibilities
Edited by Anthony Ince and Sarah Marie Hall
234 Philosophy in the Time of Economic Crisis
Pragmatism and Economy
Edited by Kenneth W. Stikkers and Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński
235 Public Policy and the Neo-Weberian State
Edited by Stanisław Mazur and Piotr Kopyciński
236 The Economic Theory of Costs
Foundations and New Directions
Edited by Matthew McCaffrey
237 The Fascist Nature of Neoliberalism
Andrea Micocci and Flavia Di Mario
238 The Political Economy of Contemporary Spain
From Miracle to Mirage
Edited by Luis Buendía and Ricardo Molero-Simarro
For a full list of titles in this series please visit www.routledge.com/books/series/
SE0345
The Political Economy
of Contemporary Spain
From Miracle to Mirage
Edited by Luis Buendía and
Ricardo Molero-Simarro
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Luis Buendía and Ricardo Molero-
Simarro; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Luis Buendía and Ricardo Molero-Simarro to be identified as
the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-30571-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-72878-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To our mothers.
We owe it all to you.
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xi
List of contributors xii
Introduction: the political economy of the Spanish growth
model and its structural adjustment process 1
LUIS BUENDÍA AND RICARDO MOLERO-SIMARRO
The political economy of the Spanish growth model
(1995–2007) 3
Crisis and adjustment in the Spanish economy (2008–2015) 9
Structure of the book 13
1 The accumulation model of the Spanish economy:
profitability, the real estate bubble, and sectoral imbalances 20
JUAN PABLO MATEO AND MIGUEL MONTANYÀ REVUELTO
Introduction 20
Macroeconomic dynamics: from growth to long depression 23
Internal dislocation in the dynamics of accumulation 32
Conclusions 44
2 Spain’s external insertion: peripheral or not? 49
MANUEL GRACIA AND MARÍA JOSÉ PAZ
Introduction 49
The Spanish economy in international production 51
Trade pattern 61
Conclusions 72
viii Contents
3 The Spanish financial sector: debt crisis and bailout 77
EDUARDO GARZÓN ESPINOSA, BIBIANA MEDIALDEA GARCÍA,
AND ANTONIO SANABRIA MARTÍN
Introduction 77
Basic elements of the Spanish financial system 78
Growth regime financing (1995–2007) 79
The private debt crisis 85
Adjustment, bailout, and socialization of losses 87
Conclusions 94
4 The Spanish labor market: on the path of flexibility
and wage devaluation 98
MARÍA EUGENIA RUIZ-GÁLVEZ AND LUCÍA VICENT VALVERDE
Introduction 98
Model and structure of labor relations in Spain 99
Crisis and adjustment in the Spanish labor market 108
Conclusions 118
5 The distributive pattern of the Spanish economy:
the impact of adjustment on inequalities 124
LUIS BUENDÍA, RICARDO MOLERO-SIMARRO,
AND F. JAVIER MURILLO ARROYO
Introduction 124
Distribution of income during the period of growth 125
Distribution of income during the period of crisis 139
Conclusions 145
Conclusions: Spain’s lost decade 150
LUIS BUENDÍA AND RICARDO MOLERO-SIMARRO
Index 157
Figures
1.1 Quantitative contribution to GDP growth of demand variables,
1995–2015 (%) 25
1.2 Profit rate (%) and volume of surplus at constant prices
(1995 = 100), 1995–2015 26
1.3 Dynamics of the components of profitability (1995 = 100),
1995–2015 30
1.4 Power of dispersion of the real estate complex over the
economy, 1995–2014 (coefficient in decimal form) 37
1.5 Direct and vertically integrated employment coefficients of the
real estate complex, 1995–2014 (jobs per million euros in 2008
prices) 38
1.6 Direct and vertically integrated jobs at the real estate complex,
1995–2014 (thousands) 39
1.7 Absolute differences in the evolution of total employment and
contribution of the real estate complex thereto, 1996–2015
(thousands) 41
2.1 FDI: inflows and outflows (millions of euro) 53
2.2 Producer-driven indicator, considering final goods over total
flows, 1999–2013 58
2.3 Buyer-driven indicator, considering parts and components over
total flows, 1999–2013 59
2.4 Exports and imports of goods and services, 1995–2015
(millions of euro) 63
2.5 Intra-EU and extra-EU trade of goods (excluding energy),
1999–2015 (millions of euro) 65
2.6 Contributions to trade balance by technological content, 1999,
2007, and 2015 (millions of euro) 70
3.1 Credit by destination, 1993–2016 (annual growth rates) 81
3.2 Credit to non-financial resident sectors, nominal GDP, and
inflation, 1963–2016 (annual growth rates) 83
3.3 Spanish bond risk premium, January 2001–May 2017
(basic points) 89
