Spain: OECD praises its reform efforts

08 September 2014

Spain has done more than either Italy or France to reform its economy and reduce public spending, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest review of the Spanish economy.

The key findings of the report:

• Structural reforms (labour market, banking, fiscal) have put the economy on the road to recovery.
• Reforms have improved labour market performance even though unemployment rate is still too high.
• Innovation, especially by business is too low, and talent is under-utilised.
• In spite of recent competitiveness gains, barriers to entrepreneurship remain high.
• The banking sector has improved but credit is too low and firms need access to other sources of financing.
• The budget situation has improved, but public debt is still high and rising.
• Private debt is falling. Firms face difficulties to obtain financing.

The OECD predicts that the Spanish economy will grow by 1.2% in 2014 and 1.6% in 2015. That is slightly less than predictions made by Luis de Guindos, Spain’s minister for the economy and competitiveness, who in July said that he expected the economy to grow by 2% in 2015. In May, the European Commission predicted that Spain’s economy would grow by 2.1% in 2015

OECD slideshare presentation

European Voice commentary

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