Rob HorganSPAIN is leading the way for shocking the Eurozone back to life, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Paris-based think-tank picked Spain as the country to follow as their report slammed the attitudes of the eurozone’s largest economies.
France, Germany and Italy were all told they should be learning from Spain – which has pushed through reforms to boost the economy – rather than being bogged down in discussion.
Speaking before a meeting of world leaders at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, Catherine Mann – the OECD’s chief economist – praised Spain for restructuring its banking sectors and driving down labour costs to revitalise the economy.
Mann added that world leaders had plans on the table to boost the G20 GDP by about 2% by 2018, equivalent to an extra €1.3 trillion of income.
Very funny article, it’s like ‘praising an out of control drunk in charge of a car, or train crash in Spain’s case’ Lol!
With Spanish national debt at 95.81% of GDP currently, unemployment at 23.67%, youth unemployment at 53.7%, 1.72 million properties for sale, staggering Bank and Corporate debt etc and Eurozone heading for another recession, I’m not about to invest in Spain any time soon.
Add to this a PP party led by Rajoy in control who allegedly are corrupt, it doesn’t instill confidence unless you want to deal in brown envelopes all the time.
Debt tipped to rise to over 100% of GDP next year.
The OECD need to wake up and smell the coffee. I doubt that the thousands of homeowners (Spaniards and ex-pats) who live under the threat of being made homeless would agree with their analysis.
No mention from Catherine Mann about the staggering amount of (alleged) corruption cases that continue to emerge from under the stone. There will soon be more politicians serving sentences behind bars than serving the public.
“Praised Spain for driving down labour costs” Translates as, pauperising the already poor.
The whole report is beyond funny,it’s bizarre. The world these people live in is a planet away from ordinary lives. Look at their working environment for a start, in the picture above. Then there are their salaries and “expenses”, keeping them cushioned from reality.
But we mustn’t fret, they have ” plans on the table”. All will be well by following the example of Spain…
Anyone seen this ‘recovery’? All I see is more unemployment and more closed down shops. Who doesn’t want a recovery, but where is it?
This has to be the funniest – or cruelest – joke I’ve seen all year. What exactly is the measure of “success?”: Spain’s unemployment rate is stuck at over 25% even though almost 2 million have fled the country: the school system is a shambles and consistently ranks at or near the bottom of nearly all educational rankings: the largest (and growing) gap between rich and poor in the EU; public debt that is near 100% of GDP; a political class that grants itself virtual immunity from prosecution and is consistently caught stealing millions from the public purse; over 4 million “ni-nis” – young people are neither working nor studying; an impending demographic typhoon threatening to swamp the country in 20 years time – when Spain will have the most aged population in Europe; Almost 40% of the working population earn less than 700 euros per month; the highest infant poverty rate in the EU … One could go on and but this sounds like a a failed state. Nice try OECD. Your recipe for “success” – i.e. an impoverished working class that slaves for the increasingly ricer elite has brought Spain to its knees and will do the same elsewhere if put into practice.
Telegraph Forex comment yesterday says ‘Sterling is strong’ so a good time to buy property, but at around 1.25 euros per £ I don’t see that as strong, it used to be 1.65 in the boom, sterling is still approx 25% weaker meaning properties which appear to have halved are actually only 25% cheaper to UK buyers. Add in near 20% buying and selling costs, Spanish property is no bargain? The so called experts(agents) never seem to mention this myth!
Anyone seriously considering investing in Spain should be committed.
I have seen building recovery Fred. Buildings being finished and cranes actually moving instead of remaining idle (like the past few years). A lot of Norwegians are buying in Spain, just as one example for you.
That’s if you’re interested?
Let’s hope this sparks small recovery in businesses too.
You can come and LIVE in Spain by the way. If you just want to ‘invest’ I’d go elsewhere, or you’ll end up wasting your life shouting at Spain on this blog.
Please don’t believe the stats, trust those of us back in olde England who know. Property in Spain is cheap for a reason, it smells of garlic. Houses may cost a million in London, Kent or Sussex, but they earn rent from all the economic migrants, including the Spanish. We know prices will keep going up in the uk. Don’t waste money in Spain, turn the heating up instead! Keep smart, darlings! And follow the advice of the uk team on here! Kisses!
@Derek, I do currently live in Spain for the majority of the year, and pay taxes in Spain, employ people in Spain, support the economy of Spain etc. Getting on with life and at the same time telling people the realities of Spain as I experience it. You’ll just have to live with that lol.
In Today’s El Pais “Six out of 10 Spanish youths plan to move abroad to find a job, study finds”. These young people are Spain’s future. Guess politicians will claim this as success as the unemployment rate will go down.
Spain’s economic woes are undoubtledly made much worse by being in the Eurozone. They do not have the freedom and flexibility that the UK has and they are having to live with an overvalued currency which makes it difficult for them to be competitive. Many of the former Communist countries from Eastern Europe (with the exception of Slovenia because they are in the Euro) are doing much better than Spain with higher growth figures because they have freed up their economies.
That said, most of Spain’s problems are self-inflicted and they do themselves no favours whatsoever with their hostile practices. For any country to succeed, it must business friendly, flexible, encourage free enterprise, inward investment from both individuals and multi-national companies, have a fair and reasonable tax regime and it must also have workable laws. Spain has none of these attributes which is why it is such a basket case.
Spain13 is right, you would have to be mad to invest in Spain as things stand at the moment and last week’s demolitions are a case in point. Residential tourism was one of Spain’s largest, most successful industries but instead of trying to expand it, they decided to kill it stone dead. They must be out of their minds.
People tend to vote with their feet. I’ve yet to meet more provincial folk on the entire planet than the Spanish. Most wouldn’t leave their neighborhoods – or mother’s house for that matter – if things weren’t downright hopeless. So, six out of ten are planning to leave a country which already has the most aged population in the world and countless millions of empty houses? By all means Derek, encourage your friends and neighbors to invest in Spain. It’s a great bet.
Foundations have been laid, with huge suffering and sacrifice of the Spaniards. Hopefully profitable pace that international organizations predict will be obtained. This is not a joke, it is a necessary structural change. Please behave.
@UK.es. You say foundations have been laid. You aren’t kidding, lots of shell sites waiting to start up again, business as usual.. Spain has made no major changes, still the same economy boom and bust relying on El Ladrillo and tourism. Oh and handouts from Europe for white elephants.
Structural change? Is that some kind of euphemism for skyrocketing, entrenched unemployment and impoverishing the populace?
what a lot of whingers you people are. Your reciting old information. But as usual Brits who cannot enjoy what they have and are determined to put of others by their own inability to get on with life.
@drummerboy, what do you mean by “old information”. Yesterday the European Commission cited Spain, Greece and Cyprus as having the most unstable economies in the EU. and said Politicans need to take urgent measures.
drummerboy, I think you need to elaborate. Perhaps you could enlighten us and tell us which comments are out of date and why.
Discussing economics is hardly an inability to get on with life, many journalists make a decent living out of it. Unpalatable as they may be, I can assure you my comments are up to date.
Yes, so sorry for repeating that (week) old information. Everyone go back to sleep – nothing to see here. Everything is just peaches again in Spain.
Well said Jane and Marion, and Spain13.
So Drummer Boy you’ve been asked to elaborate so why not? Sure it’s not you who is the whinger? You mistake giving useful information to others as ‘determined to put off others’.
of course this is bad news for you , sorry if it rankles with you