Spain in the EU : the road to economic convergence / Mary Farrell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Farrell, Mary, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

European Union--Spain.

European Union.

Spain--Economic conditions--1975-.

Spain.

Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

xviii, 216 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave, 2001.

Summary:

"Spain in the EU takes the country's entry into the European Community in 1986 as its starting point and traces changes in the national and regional economy, shifts in national economic policy, and the fundamental restructuring of the public sector. The book identifies the challenges that continue to confront the Spanish policy under monetary integration, as Spain pursues convergence towards the EU model, while retaining national cohesion.

Contents:

1 From EC to EMU: the Challenges for Spanish Convergence 1

European integration

the promised benefits 3

The Maastricht Treaty and convergence 6

Real convergence and cohesion 14

Challenges for Spain 16

2 The Europeanisation of the Spanish Economy 20

The productive system 21

Sectoral shift 22

Concentration and firm size 25

Foreign direct investment 28

FDI

origins and sectoral distribution 28

The impact of FDI 31

Trade flows and European integration 33

Liberalisation effects 34

Trade flows

geographic and sectoral changes 35

Balance of payments and the trade deficit 40

3 The Labour Market, Unemployment and Divergence 46

Why is unemployment so high? 47

Labour market profile 57

Principal labour market features 58

Features of unemployment 60

Policy and labour market reform 62

European integration and employment policy 68

Convergence and cohesion 74

4 Towards Monetary Union - and Beyond 78

Monetary policy - the early years 79

ERM entry and its aftermath 83

Towards monetary union 87

Convergence programmes and fiscal policy 89

EMU - the challenges for Spain 92

Spain and EMU - the cost and benefits 93

5 The Public Sector and European Integration 95

Origins and problems of deficit spending 96

The emerging public sector 97

European integration and the public sector 102

The challenge of reform 102

Tackling public sector reform 105

The pension sector 105

Regional government and financial autonomy 108

Privatisation and the public sector 116

Spain and EU financial flows 119

6 Regional Diversity and Convergence 123

Regional development profile 124

Regional growth - facts and trends 124

Inter-regional convergence 128

Regional convergence with the EU 131

Regional conditions and convergence 132

Regional policy and European integration 137

Spanish regional policy 138

The EU and the regions 141

7 Spain in the EU: 2000 and Beyond 152

Convergence - past problems and current issues 153

Real convergence - an assessment 158

Bright future or bleak prospects? 164

The future EU - implications for convergence 168.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 206-212) and index.

ISBN:

0333749634

OCLC:

45320423