Overviewing the historical development of Spain economy would be appropriate to mention the fact that in comparison with the rest of Europe the financial crisis hit Spain slightly earlier. It has led to a considerable fall of real GDP that equals about 8, 9%; has provoked an immense rise of poverty contributed by unemployment and increased inequality. In addition, it has resulted in the emergence of inflation problems. Thus, the economy of Spain is an interesting object for investigation as it is the country with a rich economic history, wise economic policy but still a number of economic problems ahead.
The Overview of the country’s economy
GDP, GDP per capita, real GDP growth
Gross Domestic Products (GDP) is one of the factors that determine the standart of country’s living. It measures the monetary value of all services and goods produced during a certain period. Annualy, the change in GDP is about 3 % and there is no visible variations less than the following figure over the previous year. Talking about GDP per capita, which is possible to obtain while dividing GDP by the number of inhabitants is $6,132 that is $231 higher than the same quarter last year.
Inflation
The rate of inflation mainly bases on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Talking about the latter, it aims at showing the change of a generally-accepted services and goods package consumed by Spanish households. According to the latest survey, the most recent inflation figure remains subdued and equals 1,936%, ( López, 2016).
Unemployment
Unemployment has dicreased but it continues being on the agenda. Since the crisis in 2013, employment in Spain has increased by more than 4 %. However, it is 6% below it’s pre-crisis level (Pedró & Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2017). The rate of unemployment equals 20% and is reasonably high in respect to the other countries of the same economic level.
Timeline
Trends in Economic indicators over the years.
Overviewing the history of Spain economy it is possible to observe numerous changes in its trends. Mass changes took place within three phases: 1850-1950, 1950-1974, and the third one occupies the period since 1974 till 2000, serving as an indicator for a break in the long-term rate of growth ( López, 2016). Such a situation is the result of the Civil War, The Cuban War of Independence, the Primo de Rivera Dictatorship etc.
Economic Forecast (short-term and long-term)
Taking into considration the current data and the OECD economic survey, it is possible to determin the further economic situation in Spain as quite favourable. Prospects for 2017-2018 are rather positive including the growth of GDP to be on average over 2,7% per year. By 2025 the unemployment rate will fall below 7 % becoming totally negative till 2030 (Pedró & Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2017).
Alternative measures of the economic well-being
Life expectancy
Spain has second-highest rate of life expectency in the world. About 100,000 people are aged over 100 years. Average life expectancy equals 83,2 succumbing to Japan, where the indicator is 83,4 being only 0,2 years lower.
Emigration / Immigration
Rates of immigration are high, but rates of emmigration still outgo it. Up to 2013 the figure of immigrant inflows equaled 281 000. In addition, Spain led the list of countries with the biggest outflows including 532 000 (Pedró & Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2017).
Education/Literacy Rate
The literacy of population is quite satisfactory. Over 98,1 % of adult population are able to write and read, while about 740 206 people above 15 years are illiterate. The overall literacy rate among youth is 99.74% . taking into consideration the aspect of Apain expanditure on education per student is equaled 22.86 % in 2013.
Conclusion
Spain is a member of the World Trade Organization, the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It possesses the fifth-largest economy in Europe and the fourteenth-largest economy in the world. In addition, the country is enjoying a dynamic recovery from a deep economic decline, which results in GDP growth that averages 2, 5 % over the last three years (Pedró & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2017). However, the following economy does not show consistency as despite the fact of raising well-being the rate of unemployment remains comparatively high, particularly among the long-term employed and young employees.
- Pedró, F., & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2017). Economic Surveys: Spain 2017. Paris, France: OECD.
- López, E. A. (2016). Modern Spain. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ua/
