Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Spain's Catch up with the EU Core: The Implausible Quest of a ‘Flying Pig’?

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13608746.2013.785650

1743-9612

Luis Moreno,

European Union Policy and Governance

Abstract In contemporary times, Spain offers a good example of a very compressed transition to post-industrial socioeconomic structures, passing from peripheral to core status within the European Union (EU) and the international economic order. The present article reviews developments and outcomes in Spain since 2000 by paying attention to the impact of the EU on Spain's welfare political economy. The adoption of EU recommendations in labour activation policies and the increase in female participation in the formal labour market are singled out as highly relevant for policy change. The explanatory account of welfare development focuses on continuity and change by considering the analytical constellation of ideas, interests and institutions. Keywords: Economic Catch-upEuropeanisationLabour ActivationSocial Policy ChangeWelfare Reform Acknowledgments The author is grateful to comments on an earlier version of this paper made by participants at the international workshop held at the Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir during 14–16 October 2010. I am also grateful to comments and data provided by José Adelantado, Ana Arriba, Eloísa del Pino, María Gómez-Garrido, Antonio González-Temprano, Ana Marta Guillén, Pau Marí-Klose, Francisco Javier Moreno-Fuentes, Olga Salido, Amparo Serrano-Pascual and Gregorio Rodríguez-Cabrero. Responsibility for interpretations remains solely with the author. This article was prepared during the workings of the research projects ‘Welfare Attitudes in a Changing Europe’ (European Science Foundation Eurocores/HumVib and MICIIN, CSO2008-02874-E/SOCI) and ‘New Social Risks, Economic Crisis, and Mediterranean Welfare’ (Spanish Ministry of Education, Mobility Programme, PR2010-0095). Notes [1] According to Eurobarometer figures, in autumn 2009 (no. 72) three out of every four Spaniards felt optimistic about the future of the EU compared with an average of two out of every three Europeans in EU-27. Among the six most populous countries in EU-27, Spain was the most ‘optimistic’ with 75 per cent, followed by Poland (74 per cent), Italy (69 per cent), Germany (68 per cent), France (58 per cent) and the UK (50 per cent). For the perception of the EU by political and economic elites in Spain, see Jerez-Mir, Real Dato and Vázquez-García (Citation2010). [2] This famous sentence was articulated by the Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno in a longstanding dispute with his colleague, José Ortega y Gasset, on the issue of the ‘Europeanisation of Spain’ (or the Hispanisation of Europe). European ‘practicality’ was to be confronted with Spanish ‘spirituality’. Later, this expression has often been used to criticise the lack of scientific interest in Spain. [3] Using data on France and Italy, it has been contended that there is no such consistent distinction between Continental and Mediterranean market economies (Geffen & Kenyon Citation2006). For much of their political economic arrangements, France and Italy could well qualify as Continental European countries of a ‘genuine’ Bismarckian type. This could apply, at least partially, to other Southern European countries. However, the degree of internal variation within the PIGS countries does not reach that within the group of Continental European countries. Other studies grouping all four Southern European countries clearly confirm that Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain cluster robustly in a distinctive group (Vasconcelos-Ferreira & Figueiredo Citation2005). [4] According to a traditional Scottish proverb (first written in 1586), if ‘pigs fly in the air with their tails forward, flying backwards would seem a small extra feat’. [5] A more comprehensive picture of the general level of indebtedness must also take into account private borrowing. It comes as no surprise that countries such as Spain, with a total external debt of around 140 per cent, are expected to face hard times during the 2010s along the lines of other core European countries. At the end of 2010, the figures of total indebtedness (as a percentage of GDP) were of a similar range, if not higher, in France (130 per cent), Germany (135 per cent), Italy (155 per cent) and the UK (170 per cent). [6] This is shown in the higher equalisation of Spanish pension payments (Sarasa Citation2007). [7] If there is analytical agreement to include Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain in a Southern European typology (Giner Citation1986; Gunther, Diamandouros & Puhle Citation1995; Malefakis Citation1992; Morlino Citation1998), the boundary limits of the Mediterranean mode of social protection remain a debatable issue (Ferrera Citation1997). Questions in this respect relate, for instance, to whether France should be included as a Mediterranean welfare country, or whether new (Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia) or prospective (Croatia, Turkey) EU member states share analogous welfare characteristics with countries located to the west of the Mediterranean Sea. [8] The percentage of women that have higher tertiary education went from 12.6 per cent in 1985 to 22.7 per cent and 31 per cent in 1995 and 2005, respectively. [9] In 2000, just eight per cent of Spanish working couples with children had the woman working part-time, compared with 53 per cent in the Netherlands, 40 per cent in the UK and 33 per cent in Germany (Moreno Citation2004). [10] Cohorts of women, now aged between 40 and 64, who could only undertake demanding professional activities in the labour market if they were prepared to combine them with traditional unpaid caring work in households typify Spanish ‘superwomen’ across all Spanish social groups, classes and geographical areas (Moreno Citation2004). [11] According to data produced by the Spanish National Statistics Institute, some 80 per cent of all jobless residents in Spain had some kind of income support in 2010, although this figure did not take into account first-time jobseekers and those not registered as unemployed. [12] An instance of this financial concern was the cancellation of the ‘baby cheque’ benefit (cheque bebé), which had been introduced as an electoral promise by the PSOE government in July 2007. Mothers were granted €2,500 for birth or adoption. The programme was phased out at the end of 2010.