Macroeconomia España

Despite its very delicate macroeconomic situation
and the well-known difficulties of its banking system that
restricts the access to financing for local firms, Spain
remains stable at36th place. The country continues to
benefit from world-class transport infrastructure facilities
(10th) and a good use of ICT (24th). It also has one of
the highest tertiaryeducation enrollment rates (18th),
which provides a large pool of skilled labor force that,
if properly mobilized, could help the country’s muchneeded economic transition towardhigher-value-added
activities. Notwithstanding these strengths, Spain’s
competitive edge is hampered by its macroeconomic
imbalances. Its difficulties in curbing the public deficit
(135th), whichcontinue to add to the already high public
debt (112th), in addition to the severe difficulties of a
segment of the banking system (109th), have resulted
in a lack of confidence inthe financial markets and the
country’s ability to access affordable financing from the
international markets. The bond spread against stronger
economies has relentlessly continued togrow, hindering
the capacity of the country, its banking system, and
finally its business sector to access affordable sources
of financing (122nd). In addition, Spain’s labor markets,while improving slightly, remain too rigid (123rd). The
recently adopted structural reforms, both in the banking
system and the labor market, should help in addressing
theseweaknesses once implemented. However, recent
cuts in public research and innovation, coupled with the
increasing difficulties of the private sector in obtaining
funding for research anddevelopment activities, could
continue to hold back the capacity of local firms to
innovate (44th), which will be crucial to facilitate the
economic transformation of the country