Search results

This time monetary policy cannot and should not be the main tool used to tackle the crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine. It cannot, because interest rates are already at very low levels. Moreover, the high inflation is forcing the central banks to act with extreme caution.

With the international order in the midst of an adjustment, we are entering the summer period with a feeling of tense calm, faced with a challenging geopolitical scenario to which a new layer of complexity is added every week.

In the current context, marked by the breakdown of some supply chains, to what extent can Portugal take advantage of the situation, position itself as an alternative supplier and increase the contribution from exports to GDP growth?

we analyse the evolution of the middle classes in advanced countries in recent decades, focusing in particular on the trends in Spain’s middle class over the last decade.

The global demographic structure is undergoing a profound transformation and it is becoming less and less like the classic pyramid with a wide base formed by young people and a vertex with the elderly. This change in the silhouette reflects a transformation that will require profound changes in a social system based essentially on working generations funding retirees.

To date, the investments already approved as part of the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) amount to 12,249 million euros, compared to total planned investments of 16,644 million euros. This represents an approval rate of 74%, which in principle looks promising in terms of getting the most out of the NGEU funds that Portugal will receive up until 2026.

It is difficult to curb imports in order to defend local production while relying on them as a source of tax revenues. In fact, the more successful US trade policy is in restricting imports, the lower the revenues that can be expected.

We analyse the budget deficit reduction plan set out by the government in its 2023-2026 Stability Programme, based on a gradual reduction driven by the recovery of the Spanish economy, bringing it down from 4.8% of GDP in 2022 to 3.9% in 2023 and to 2.5% by 2026.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia have highlighted the vulnerability of the global growth model to energy supply shocks.

The uncertainty generated by Brexit is already affecting economic growth (mainly in the United Kingdom, and in particular in the form of a suspension of investment projects) and it could hinder business relations with Spain in the short term.

The spring rally was dampened by signs of persistent inflationary pressures and a tightening of the hawkish tone among the major central banks, with rates expected to be «higher for longer».

Although Spain’s exports have been surprisingly strong in the current context, this good performance stretches back a long time. It began during the financial and sovereign debt crisis of a decade ago, when many Spanish companies were forced to look abroad for business opportunities in the face of weak domestic demand.

Geopolitical tensions and the uncertainty surrounding foreign demand force us to reassess the strengths and weaknesses of exports in the Spanish economy. To do so, it is essential to analyse what we export, how diversified our range of products is, as well as how competitive it is. To improve our understanding, in this article we will analyse the complexity of the products that are exported, as well as their technological intensity, two key variables for assessing the competitiveness of our exports.