Amores perros

por Ramon

Justo una semana antes de las elecciones del 11-M Time publicó un reportaje especial sobre España y su economía, también Newsweek puso por las nubes el modelo económico español y publicitó hasta el ditirambo "the coolest city in Europe" (o sea Barcelona).

Ahora Businessweek publica una artículo significativamente titulado "Sudden Siesta in Spain" (hace falta estar registrado) donde la foto, a pesar del crecimiento alto, no es precisamente halagüeña. Hay unos cuantos párrafos interesantes. Sólo hemos recogido el que tilda al modelo español de "viejo". Una frase que recoge Businessweek también resulta un buen resumen de la situación " Spain is a developed country, but it isn't an advanced one".

Parece que el idilio de la prensa norteamericana con España se ha terminado. Hasta la próxima, claro.

OLD MODEL Even more dangerous for the long term, the economy is not creating a high-tech sector to sustain future expansion. Since 2000, unemployment has dropped from 14% to 10.8%. But almost 40% of the new jobs are in low-skilled sectors such as construction and domestic services, according to the labor union CCOO. Over 30% of Spanish workers have temporary contracts, the highest proportion in the EU. Construction alone accounts for 9.5% of GDP. "Our growth model served a purpose in the past, but now it's obsolete," says Almudena Briones, an economist at Uníon General de Trabajadores, Spain's largest union. "We're losing industry." The UGT is pressing the government to introduce an active industrial policy at home, and pressure Asian governments to improve working conditions and wages.To forge a more globally competitive economy, Spain needs to push harder for flexible labor markets, greater competition in services, and higher spending on education and R&D. These are the kind of reforms that Germany, France, and Italy have been struggling to enact, with only marginal success. In the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, Spain performed below the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development average in mathematics, reading, and science, indicating the need for more investment in education. But closing the technology gap with the rest of Europe will take more than money. Economy Minister Solbes says boosting productivity is a government priority. "If we can't create competitive advantages in high-tech sectors and if we don't focus on quality, market forces will punish us," he said at the May 9 conference.