ECONOMY OF SPAIN - Grade 11 HL1 Aadesh Sanghvi

SPAIN

Spain's capitalist mixed economy is the 16th largest worldwide and the 6th largest in the European Union. Spain was the twelfth-largest exporter in the world and the sixteenth-largest importer.

Spain is listed 23rd in UN Human Development Index and 30th in GDP(PPP) per capita by World Bank, thus it is classified as high income economy and among the countries of very high human development. Spain is a member of the European Union, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Trade Organization.

• BANKING SYSTEM:Spanish private commercial banks played a central role in Spain's economic development, benefitting from their role as the state's creditor in the 19th century, from their ability to monetise public debt, and from state-sanctioned oligopolistic arrangements that lasted from the beginning of the 20th century until the late 1980s, when European rules forced a liberalisation of the sector. The country follows conservative banking rules and practises. Major banks-BBVA, SANTANDER.

• GENERAL PRICES: Having no natural resource, Spain has to import all of its fossil fuels and other minerals and resources. This in the long term contributes to inflation and rise in taxes in price level for the common. 

• ECONOMIC STRENGTH: Since the late 1990s many of the Spanish banks have gone multi-national and started to invest in its neighbouring European countries and in Asia,specially in India and China. It is second biggest investor in the world after U.S.A. Spanish companies invested in fields like renewable energy commercialisation , technology companies like Telefónica, Abengoa, Mondragon Corporation, train manufacturers like CAF, Talgo, global corporations such as the textile company Inditex, petroleum companies  and infrastructure, with six of the ten biggest international construction firms specialising in transport being Spanish, like Ferrovial, Acciona, ACS, OHL and FCC. 

1. INFRASTRUCTURE-In a recent study that was conducted Spain was listed 10th in the world in terms of first-class infrastructure. It's infrastructure is ahead of countries like Japan or the United States. In particular, the country is a leader in the field of high-speed rail, having developed the second longest network in the world and leading high-speed projects with Spanish technology around the world.Spain is known for its civil engineers worldwide.The port of Valencia in Spain is the 5th busiest in Europe and 30th busiest in the world. 

STEADY GROWTH IN EXPORTS-Spain has focused on increase of exports in recent times. Spanish exports grew by 4.2% in 2013, the highest rate in the European Union.In 2013 Spain achieved a trade surplus for the first time in three decades. The reason behind the export growth was driven by capital goods and automative. 

Another export produce growing aggressively over the last few years is the one of agribusiness. During the 2004-2014 period, the size of Spain´s agribusiness exports had risen by 95% −up to 22,500 million euros− led by pork, wine and olive oil. By 2012 Spain was by far the biggest producer of olive oil in the world, accounting for 50% of the total production worldwide. By 2013 it was also the world leading producer of wine.

• ECONOMIC SECTOR-

1. AGRICULTURE- Only 17% of Spain's land is under cultivation.Half of this land is planted with corn,fruit trees and vegetables. Other crops include grapes,cotton,sugar beets, potatoes,legumes ,olive trees ,mangoes ,straw berries ,tomatoes ,fodder grass,

citrus fruits ,olive oil and wine . 

Livestock ,Poultry and Dairy Products became a focus for production. Spain in a leading exporter of citrus fruit and olive oil. Spain imports a large quantity of grain.

2.TOURISM-The climate of Spain, its beaches, flamboyant landscape ,historical legacy, culture and food makes it a popular tourist destination. Madrid, Barcelona and Ibiza being the most popular.

3. ENERGY-Spain is one of the world's leading countries in the development and production of renewable energy. It is a leading producer of solar power and wind power. It also has hydroelectric,biomass and marine plants. It also has several nuclear power plants.

4.TRANSPORT- The Spanish road system is mainly centralised, with six highways connecting Madrid to the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia, West Andalusia, Extremadura and Galicia. A Spain aims to put one million electric cars on the road by 2017 as part of the government's plan to save energy and boost energy efficiency.It also has a intense high-speed railway network.It has 47 public airports the biggest one being in Madrid.

5.SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Economist

The Guardian

Google News

The Telegraph

New York Times

Investor's Business Daily

www.wikipedia.org

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

http://www.spain.info

http://country.eiu.com/spain      

Http://www.eubusiness.com/europe/spain

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/spain