INTRODUCTION
CURRENT SPAIN:
ECONOMICS / POLITICAL SCIENCE
SPAIN - *Everything* you need to know!
Political, social and economic backgrounds
Brief historical review (short video)
–711-1492: Muslim presence in Al-Andalus
–722 D.Pelayo victory in Asturias→”La
Reconquista”
–921-1031→caliphate of Córdoba
–1085→Toledo
–El “Cid Campeador”
–1469→Ferdinand and Isabella
–1492→ Jews expelled, Granada, América
–XVI: Golden age→ Charles I, and Phillip II
–La “armada invencible”
–Decline of the empire (XVII)
–War of succession → Bourbon dynasty (1700)
–La “ilustración” (Charles III)
–The war of independence → Cadiz, 1812
–Independence of American territories
–Carlist wars, “restauración” and “turnismo”
–First republic (1873-1874)
–Second republic (1931-1936)
–Civil war (1936-1939)
–Franco’s Dictatorship (1939-1975)
–Democracy and Constitution of 1978
Classwork assignment
1. What did the Romans call the Iberian Peninsula?
2. Which kingdom ruled the Iberian Peninsula when the Moors invaded in the 8th century AD?
3. Which two crowns were united under the Catholic Monarchs?
4. Why is the year 1492 significant in Spanish history?
5. Which dynasty ruled Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries?
6. How long were Portugal and Spain united as one country?
7. Who won the War of Spanish Succession, and what was the name of the new ruling dynasty?
8. Did Napoleon Bonaparte become king of Spain?
9. When was the first Spanish Constitution drafted?
10. When did Spain lose Cuba to USA?
11. What were the two opposing sides in the Spanish Civil War?
12. Which countries supported each of these two sides?
13. What is referred to as the "Spanish miracle"?
14. What is the name of the current king of Spain?
15. Is there any interesting aspect of the video you'd like to discuss?
The Great Spanish crash (BBC©, 2012)
1. Search the roots and distinctive features of the Spanish recession
2. Find examples of links between political decisions and economic
conditions
3. Identify different policies applied to fight the crisis
4. Be aware of the social and political consequences of the economic crisis
5. Look for instances of basic economic principles in the video (forthcoming)
The Great Spanish Crack (assignment)
1. What are some of the roots of the Spanish financial crisis coming from the transition to
democracy?
2. What are the three "typical Spanish ingredients" that we included in our own recipe of
the financial crisis?
3. What were some of the consequences for Spain of becoming a member of the Euro?
4. How did the local municipalities land regulations helped to worsen the situation? What
was the intended effect of that regulation? What was the effective result of it? Why do
you think it did not achieved its goal?
5. What are the "white elephants"? Can you give some examples of Spanish "white
elephants"? What is the cost to citizens of these failed projects?
6. What were the supposedly wrong incentives embedded in the Savings Banks (Cajas de
Ahorro) directive boards? Why do you think nobody tried and changed that?
7. Did Spanish financial system immediately suffered from USA's subprime crisis? Why?
How could it be, then, that the Spanish banking system eventually collapsed as well?
The Great Spanish Crach (assignment)
8. What were the different effects of the crisis among Spanish youngsters?
9. What are "The angels" project about in San Miguel? What might be the drawbacks of this kind of
solution?
10. What was the “Plan E” about (used by Spanish government to fight the first symptoms of the
recession)? What seemed to be the final effects of such a plan?
11. What was the Spanish government's policy against the collapse of the Saving Banks (the “plan B”)?
Why do you think it did not seem to work?
12. How was the Spanish economy supposed to recover if monetary devaluation and fiscal stimulus
were not possible? Why those two mentioned solutions were indeed not possible to use at that
time?
13. What is the “blackmail” Spain seemed to impose on the rest of the European Union? Why did the
Spanish government did not want a bailout from European Union?
14. What are some of the political and social consequences of the recession (and the measures taken
against recession) in Spain?
15. Give your critical view about the documentary? What do you think is the main lesson to be learned
from it?
Main economic problems in current Spain
• Unemployment rate
• Public debt and public deficit
• Insufficient competition in markets
• Inequality of income distribution and
high risk of poverty (especially infants)
• Institutional failures and political
corruption
• Insufficient educational levels
• Stagnated labor productivity
Data sources
• Compare your country (OECD): OECD Economic Outlook |
Compare your country
• Country statistical profile (OECD): Country statistical profile:
Spain 2023/4
• World Bank data: Spain | Data (worldbank.org)
• World Bank country profile (Spain): CountryProfile | World
Development Indicators (worldbank.org)
• Index mundi (USA vs. Spain): Spain vs. United States - economy
comparison (indexmundi.com)
