Spain: Selected Issues

IMF Staff Country Reports, January 19, 2023

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Spain: Selected Issues

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Bibliographic details

• Published: January 19, 2023
• Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400230684.002

Key findings on productivity dynamics

• Labor productivity has been a long-standing structural challenge in Spain.
• Productivity performance weaknesses:
  • Labor productivity levels are significantly lower than in some peer economies.
  • Labor productivity growth rate has been low and has not favored convergence.
  • Differences in output per hour worked across Spanish regions are considerable.
• Post-Global Financial Crisis pattern:
  • Labor productivity exhibited a counter-cyclical pattern driven by the large reduction in employment.
• Total factor productivity (TFP) has been consistently low and lagging peers for decades.
• Firm-level determinants:
  • Firm-level characteristics, such as balance sheet health and growth potentials, are significant determinants for firm investment.

Empirical approach and data

• The empirical analysis uses rich information in firm financial statements to conduct a deep-dive study on differences across firms based on size and age.
• Analysis emphasizes heterogeneity across firms and regions as key to understanding aggregate productivity outcomes.

Policy implications and recommendations

• Sustained policy focus on raising productivity is important to:
  • Increase living standards.
  • Help rebuild fiscal buffers.
  • Make growth more inclusive.
• Policy areas implicated by the analysis include measures that improve firm balance sheet health, support growth potentials of firms (especially smaller and younger firms), and address regional disparities in output per hour worked.

Publication and metadata

• Publication title: Spain: Selected Issues
• Publication date: January 19, 2023
• Series: Country Report No. 2023/034
• Issue: 034
• Volume: 2023
• Pages: 36
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400230684.002
• ISBN: 9798400230684
• ISSN: 1934-7685
• Subjects: Climate finance, Employment, Environment, International organization, Labor, Labor productivity, Monetary policy, Production, Total factor productivity
• Keywords: carbon pricing, Climate finance, Employment, Europe, Global, green policies in Spain, Labor productivity, labor productivity dynamics, Policy recommendation, support measure, Total factor productivity

Source: International Monetary Fund. "Spain: Selected Issues", IMF Staff Country Reports 2023, 034 (2023).

Content in this bundle

• Spain: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/34; December 16, 2022
  • Spain: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/34; December 16, 2022 (Markdown version)
  • Spain: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 23/34; December 16, 2022 (PDF)