Joe Haslam, a professor at IE Business School and expert on the Spanish economy, shares insights into Spain’s remarkable post-COVID recovery. He explores how immigration and tourism are fueling growth, with nearly a million Latin Americans boosting GDP. Haslam also discusses the challenges of Spain’s energy infrastructure, highlighting a recent blackout and its implications. The conversation reveals contrasts in governance, comparing the successes of Spanish infrastructure to struggles in the UK, emphasizing the impact of legal systems on economic development.
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Spain's Nine-Hour Blackout Experience
Spain experienced a national blackout lasting nine hours, disrupting electricity and communications.
People without cash had to barter and depend on local trust to get by during the outage.
insights INSIGHT
Fragile Grid in Green Transition
Spain's power grid failure was linked to challenges transitioning to renewables and maintaining low electricity prices.
Their grid was designed pre-renewables, revealing structural fragility in integrating green energy.
insights INSIGHT
Social Cohesion in Crisis
During the blackout, social cohesion was strong; people remained calm and acted supportively.
The blackout highlighted a disconnect between public servants unaffected by disruptions and those with real economic stakes.
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Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue that the success or failure of nations is determined by their political and economic institutions. They present a comprehensive theory based on 15 years of research, using historical examples from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, the Soviet Union, and various other regions to demonstrate how inclusive institutions foster economic growth and prosperity, while extractive institutions lead to poverty and stagnation. The authors discuss critical questions such as China's economic growth, the future of the United States, and the most effective ways to help countries move from poverty to prosperity[1][4][5].
We're back in Spain, and I’ve got questions. Why is Spain growing faster than Germany, France, and even the US? Why can they build high-speed rail for a fraction of the cost, and why are they the only major EU country where immigration is boosting GDP without blowing up politics?
This week, we talk to Professor Joe Haslam in Madrid about what’s being called Europe’s miracle economy. Since COVID, Spain’s growth has outpaced every major European economy, driven by smart immigration (nearly 1 million working Latin Americans), a tourism boom (especially in the cooling north), and €160 billion in EU funds that they’ve actually used. But it’s not all cerveza and sunshine. Spain’s power grid recently collapsed for nine hours, revealing the fragility of the green energy transition. Despite the boom, Spain’s productivity and housing market are heading the wrong way. Public servants now outnumber private sector workers, and even El Guapo himself, PM Pedro Sánchez, is afraid to touch buy-to-lets. We also dig into what Spain’s infrastructure success says about Ireland’s failure. Is it Napoleon vs. Wellington all over again? Because if you inherited the Napoleonic state, like Spain did, you can build metros, fast trains, and affordable housing. If you inherited British common law? You get planning objections and overpriced shoeboxes in Drimnagh.
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