40% of the employees of the Generalitat Valenciana are over 54 years of age and only 15% are under 42 years of age. These are figures valued yesterday by the deputy director of the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie), Joaquín Maudos, who warned of the aging of the Valencian regional administration staff as a factor that weakens the Valencian economy.
It is one of the conclusions of the report Situation and challenges of the Valencian economy that analyzed the weaknesses attributed to the business fabric and the public sector within the analysis of the economy, from which the Ivie also collects that the number of public employees in relation to the The population it serves is 6% lower in the Valencian Community than in the rest of Spain. “There is a problem of generational change that we are also seeing in the universities,” Maudos commented during the presentation, which also focused on the lack of senior civil servant profiles.
Maudos also explained that there are few resources in public services and that this hinders productivity. As an example, he gave the level of per capita spending made by the Generalitat Valenciana, which is lower than the average for the autonomous communities. And here he pointed to underfinancing, which hinders Valencian regional development policies.
The weakness is also linked to human resources, since there are fewer civil servants in the Valencian Community than in other regions: 32.1 public employees per inhabitant when the average for the rest of the autonomous communities is 34.2.
And it is not only the quantity, Maudos also focused on preparation, which is why he proposed that there be calls for public employment -not only in the Valencian Community, but throughout the Spanish territory- to attract talent and incorporate new profiles that create Figures such as the State Attorney General, who does work at the state level. "I know they are more expensive, but we would get more profitability," added the economist.
And already in question time, he questioned why talent goes to cities like Madrid. "Here we have elite professionals but they leave and that is where we have to focus, on how the private company or the Government can make this effort to retain talent. Here we have a hindrance."
As a whole, the Ivie report affects the "chronic low productivity" of the Valencian economy, shared responsibility between the public and private sectors, with nuances. "We have to create a favorable climate to create businesses," explained Maudos, who stated that in order to close the gap that "separates us 12 points from the national average, we have to shorten it in terms of productivity: grow faster, orient our resources in the phase that supposes more value, such as RD or ICT, and gradually changing the production model”, the economist maintained.
Lastly, the report does not forget to highlight the "chronic" underfinancing of the Valencian autonomous community, which makes the Valencian Community more vulnerable to interest rate rises. "Underfinancing explains three quarters of the Valencian public debt, due to this chronic problem", remarked Maudos.
Lastly, despite the critical portrayal of the Valencian economy - "the impact of the last crises here has been high and the income gap has increased", he highlighted - Joaquín Maudos was optimistic about the future of the Valencian economy because " We have been growing above the national average for 12 consecutive quarters and that allows us to reduce unemployment. And since we are growing faster, we are creating more jobs," he recalled. The congress continues this Tuesday with two debate tables and with the participation of the Minister of Finance and Economic Model, Arcadi Spain.
