Harsh wake-up call from the Cercle d'Economia in their Opinion Note prior to the XXXVIII Meeting in which they warn of the impoverishment of Catalan and Spanish society compared to Europe in the last 15 years. The institution chaired by Jaume Guardiola recalls that "while before the financial crisis Spain's per capita income was 9% lower than that of Europe, in 2022 the distance had increased to 17%."
When the figures for the Catalan economy are analyzed, they are even more negative because not only has the situation worsened with respect to Europe but also in relation to Spain. In Catalonia "since the beginning of the century there has been an absolute stagnation in the standard of living and a relative decline compared to Spain and Europe". The figures show that "in 2000, per capita income in Catalonia was 24% higher than the Spanish and 20% higher than the EU average. In 2021 these percentages had been reduced to 17% and 1% , respectively".
The reasons that explain the decline in Catalonia and Spain are due to low productivity and the lack of a match between the demand for labor and the supply. In the case of Catalonia, additional elements are also added as a result of the independence process of recent years. The Cercle cites one: "The flight of companies, especially the largest ones, as a result of the procés has aggravated this problem. What is most worrying is not only the direct impact of this exit, but also the reputational effect it entails, which penalizes to Catalonia in the location of business decision centers".
The note adds that "the poor evolution of the Catalan economy has gone hand in hand with a progressive deterioration of some basic social services in Catalonia, increasingly stressed by growing demand and an evident lack of resources" and cites "the attention primary education in health and public transport". For this reason, he considers that an improvement in regional financing is necessary.
The institution also maintains that there is a lack of leadership on the part of the Spanish and Catalan governments to carry out projects such as the airport. "We must act with determination and speed. Doing nothing, we all know, has and will have an astronomical opportunity cost for the Catalan economy," he adds.
Facing the elections, the Cercle asks the political parties for a long-term vision. "The lack of leadership is not a problem of the current Spanish government. Today the main difficulty in Spanish politics is a dynamic of parliamentary polarization of the two big parties, which has worrying consequences from a legislative point of view and in the implementation of a reformist agenda".
