OECD Economic Surveys: Spain 2021
The Spanish economy entered a deep recession in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A strong government response has protected jobs and firms. However, the crisis has exacerbated long-standing structural challenges, such as high unemployment, inequalities and regional disparities. The national recovery plan will help the near-term recovery and should also be used to promote long-term growth potential. A durable and inclusive recovery will require improving the quality of jobs via lower labour market segmentation, better skills and enhanced support for job seekers. Reforms to secure the pension system’s sustainability will be key to address medium-term fiscal challenges. Spain is improving on digitalisation, but there is room to improve the uptake and use of digital technologies to boost productivity growth.Enhancing digital diffusion requires addressing remaining gaps in digital infrastructure and enhancing capabilities of firms and people to take full advantage of digitalisation via higher investment in innovation and skills.
SPECIAL FEATURE: ENHANCING DIGITAL DIFFUSION FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
Also available in: French
Key Policy Insights
Until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain was experiencing a robust job-rich recovery and had improved its resilience in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, with a more balanced growth pattern, a healthier financial sector, and a lower share of construction in value-added. The impact of the crisis has been more severe than in other OECD countries due to the large scale of the pandemic and the sectoral composition of the economy, with a high share of services and tourism-related activities in employment and value-added. Some of the activities most directly affected by contact restrictions could not be done remotely, either due to their nature or to the lagging use of digital technologies prior to the crisis. The high share of small firms and temporary employment also made Spain more vulnerable to the shock (Figure 1.1).
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 1.40MBPDF