Managing the Spanish economy within Europe

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This article explores the economie polieies developed by the Spanish soeialist government from 1982 to 1996, partieularly with an eye on the impact the proeess of European integration had on them. The introduetion of stable maeroeeonomie polieies, in the form of high interest rates, is traeed to the interaction of three faetors. First, an inereasingly internationalized eeonomy, reinforeed by the European single market and monetary union projeets, foreed the Spanish government to fight inflation and deprived it of the possibility of using eurreney depreeiations. Seeondly, a radieal and fragmented union movement made it impossible for the Conzälez eabinet to rely on stable eorporatist paets to aehieve wage moderation. Finally, intense pressure to build a welfare state and misealculations about the direetion of the eeonomie eyeIe led to loose fiseal polieies that had to be eompensated with tight money measures. To eompensate for its ineapaeity to establish a social demoeratie eorporatist regime, the PSOE engaged in an aetive industrial poliey geared to a restrueturing of the publieIy owned enterprises, expanded the Spanish publie stock of human and physieal eapital, and inereased soeial spending to eompensate the unemployed and the losers of the transformation of the Spanish eeonomy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationEuropeanization and the Southern Periphery
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages165-190
Number of pages26
ISBN (Electronic)9781315039855
ISBN (Print)9780714650876
StatePublished - May 12 2014
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Social Sciences

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