Gospodarcze skutki dążeń niepodległościowych w Katalonii w latach 2010-2020

Abstract

Economic Effects of the Independence Aspirations of Catalonia in 2010-2020

Catalonia is treated by cultural scientists, scientists and economists as one of the best developing regions not only in Spain, but also in Europe. Thanks to a very well-developed economy, it arouses the interest of foreign investors (German, French, Swiss) who decide to establish business contacts and place their capital in this part of Spain, contributing to its economic growth. The same economic awareness of the Catalans (along with the historical awareness and national identity) is at the basis of unwavering aspirations for independence. The events that significantly influenced not only political stability in the last decade, but also the economic situation of Catalonia were two referenda organized in 2014 and 2017. Their correlation with selected sub-sectors of the Catalan economy is shown e.g by macroeconomic indicators such as FDI or IPI, the values of which (especially after 2017) dropped drastically. The decisions of the Constitutional Court on the illegal nature of actions taken by the authorities in Catalonia, court sentences imposing imprisonment on politicians for rebellions and misappropriation of public funds, and finally information chaos, caused uncertainty among business partners, resulting in the deterioration of the economic situation in recent years in this region of Spain. In this article, the economic analysis covers the years 2010-2020, during which the biggest negative event was the “independence referendum” in 2017.