SPAIN

Justine-jake E. Banco

Occidental Mindoro State College

ECONOMIC POLICIES OF SPAIN

Spain’s economic situation remained stable in 2019. Spain’s 1.9% economic growth rate

for 2019 is higher than other large EU member states and the rest of southern Europe (aside from

the tiny Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus), but shows signs of slowdown. The

recovery that began in 2014 has remained solid for six years in a row, consistently above the

euro zone average, although this tendency has weakened toward the end of this period and, in

particular, during 2019. In the context of domestic and international political and economic

instability, growth is expected to decline to an annual rate of 1.5% in 2020 according to the
European Commission.

Economic growth continues to be driven by private consumption, equipment investment and the

positive contribution of net exports. However, the large stock of internal and external debt, both

public and private, and high unemployment, in the context of weak productivity growth, are

significant vulnerabilities. For its part, tourism, which is a key sector for the Spanish economy

and employment, suffered an 1.3% fall in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country in

July 2019 with respect to the same month in 2018 (according to data from the National Statistics

Institute). This is the second consecutive year that the figure has fallen in the same period,

mainly due to a decline in British and German visitors, and the competitiveness of other

Mediterranean countries.

Citations:
European Commission (2019), Autumn 2019 Economic Forecast: A challenging road ahead,
Spain
https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/forecasts/2019/autumn/ecfin_forecast_autumn_2019_es_e
n.pdf

September 2019, El Pais, Spain sees fall in July tourist visits for second year running,
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/09/02/inenglish/1567423811_074989.html

DIPLOMATIC POLICIES OF SPAIN

Upon the death of General Franco and the subsequent return to democratic government, Spain's

first foreign policy priority was to re-enter the international community from which it had been

isolated during the Franco regime. To this end the nation actively pursued diplomatic relations

with other nations. Spain became a member of NATO in 1982, and has become a major

participant in multinational security activities. Spain became a full member of the European
Community (now the European Union) in January 1986, further strengthening its ties to its

neighbors. The country often coordinates its response to international policy issues through the

EU political cooperation mechanism, even on issues outside Western Europe. Spain retains a

special identification with Latin America, and advocates the concept of Hispanidad , which

emphasizes historical and cultural ties between Spain and Spanish-speaking American nations.

Spain also maintains economic and technical cooperation programs with the region. Many of its

corporations have major holdings in Latin America. In some of those nations, Spain is the top

foreign investor.

Encyclopedia of the nation. (n.d.). About the diplomatic policies of spain, retrieved 2003 from
https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Spain-FOREIGN-POLICY.html

MEMBERSHIP TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SPAIN

Spain sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Spanish territory

also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean

off the African coast, three exclaves in North Africa, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la

Gomera that border Morocco, and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Chafarinas,

Alhucemas, and Perejil. Spain is a democracy organized in the form of a parliamentary

government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a developed country with the 13th largest

economy in the world. It is a member of the European Union, United Nations, NATO, OECD,

WTO and many other international organizations.

LOCATION OF SPAIN IN BRANDT LINE

The "Brandt Line" refers to a visual depiction of the premise of the North-South divide as

outlined in the Brandt Report (1980), named for the former West German Chancellor, Willy

Brandt, that suggests primarily that a great chasm in standard of living exists between the North-

South divide and advocates development of the Third World; the North of the world above the

Brandt Line being extremely wealthy due to their successful trade in manufactured goods,

whereas the countries in the South of the Brandt Line suffer poverty in trade of intermediate

goods, where the export incomes are low. It encircles the world at a latitude of 30° N, passing

between North and Central America, north of Africa and India, but lowered towards the south to

include Australia and New Zealand above the line.

North-South divide

The updated view of the north-south

divide. Blue includes G8 states and

developed/ first world states.

The North-South Divide is a socio-

economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known

collectively as "the North", and the poorer developing countries (least developed countries), or
"the South."[1] Although most nations comprising the "North" are in fact located in the Northern

Hemisphere (with the notable exceptions of Australia and New Zealand), the divide is not wholly

defined by geography. The North is home to four of the five permanent members of the United

Nations Security Council and all members of the G8. "The North" mostly covers the West and

the First World, with much of the Second World. The expression "North-South divide" is still in

common use, but the terms "North" and "South" are already somewhat outdated. As nations

become economically developed, they may become part of the "North", regardless of

geographical location, while any other nations which do not qualify for "developed" status are in

effect deemed to be part of the "South.”

Countries described as high-income and advanced economies by the WB and IMF

Americas

  Canada

  United States

Asia

 Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China:

o  Hong Kong

o  Macau

  Taiwan

  Israel

  Japan

  Singapore

  South Korea
European Union and European Free Trade Association

  Andorra   Greece   Norway

  Austria   Hungary   Poland

  Belgium   Iceland   Portugal

  Bulgaria   Ireland   Romania

  Cyprus   Italy   San Marino

  Czech Republic   Latvia   Slovakia

  Denmark   Liechtenstein   Slovenia

  Estonia   Lithuania
  Spain

  Finland   Luxembourg
  Sweden

  France   Malta
  Switzerland
  Germany   Monaco
  United Kingdom
  Gibraltar   Netherlands
  Vatican City

Oceania

 Australia

 New Zealand

Other G8 Members

 Russia

Therien, Jean-Philippe (1999-08-01). "Beyond the North-South divide: The two tales of world
poverty". Third World Quarterly. 20 (4): 723–742. doi:10.1080/01436599913523. ISSN 0143-
6597.
 SPAIN UNDER GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONALISM

The Sapanish case can be studied in the globalization context as an example, first of all, of the

process of liberalization and openness to the world economy, particularly throughout integration

In the European Community. This is the topic of next chapter. It also a clear example that as a

result of that process there has been a social and a political modernization and a full integration

in the western culture. This is studied on the third chapter. Besides, Spain is an interesting case

of political decentralization and territorial reorganization according to a new European pattern, in

which cultural identities have an important role. That is the theme of the fourth chapter. Finally,

in the last part of the work, one can see that the Spanish case illustrates the fact that social effects

of globalization drive to an enforcement of community structure of welfare.

This contradiction or paradox has been very important in the Spanish case and can be considered

paradigmatic for Europe. At the same time that Spanish society was opened to world influences

through the processes of liberalization and democratization, the centralized state has been

transformed into another fully decentralized. Spain is now a regional-state based on 19

autonomous regions called comunidades autonomas, in which the whole territory is divide. Each

region has its own government and parliament.

The most important fact in the Spanish regionalization process was that instead of just

regionalizing part of the country, as it happened in 1936, the center to right government with the

support of the opposition parties led to a regionalization of the whole territory.