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Negative and Positive effects of Globalisation in Spain LOCALS, Issue nr. 8

European Union and Spain

Spain was adopted into the European Economic Community, an early version of the European Union, in 1987 and became the 12th member country to do so. The European Union (EU) as we know it today came together in the early 1990s. This modern-day EU came together due to the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht on November 1, 1993. This treaty’s goals were to bring the member countries together not just economically but also to improve the ability of participating nations to democratically govern themselves, to improve the nation's efficiency, to unify the members financially, and to establish a security policy for member countries. The treaty established various policies involving industry, education, and youth to meet these goals (Briney). In 1999 the EU took a huge step towards becoming unified with the introduction of the euro, with eleven countries including Spain adopting this currency (Rosenberg).

The creation of the European Union was/is one of the largest globalization experiments we have seen in our ever-expanding globalized World. In 1995 the Schengen agreement came into effect, which allows countries to remove their internal borders and allows people to travel from one country to another without having to check-in. All in all, there are now 15 EU countries that have agreed to this but some are still hesitant to join because of terrorism and drug trafficking concerns (“BBC News”). This agreement highlights what the EU’s main goal is; ultimate globalization. The EU wants to eventually become one big country and the development of a common currency and the ability for citizens to pass through borders unchecked symbolize the EU’s plans for globalization. However, this globalization can cause problems for member countries like it has for Spain.

Negative Effects of Globalization

According to the first entry on this website where we examined the book “The World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman, in which Friedman says that globalization is a force sweeping our World and creating a better, more connected Planet. The case can be made, however, that globalization is not such a good thing as Naomi Klein lies out in her book, “No Logo”. In No Logo, Klein focuses on large multinational corporations that have used globalization to expand and grow their companies overseas in order to exploit cheap labour. This has allowed these companies to put less money into the actual manufacturing of their products, because of the cheap labour they can take advantage of, and put more money into the branding of their company through advertising. We will continue down this path of how globalization can be detrimental while looking at Spain to see how, in attempting to become a flatter more global country, they have actually increased unemployment and slowed their economy.

Spain’s Rising Unemployment Rate

Spain has had some well documented economic trouble in recent years. In 2008, Spain along with most of the Western World was hit hard by the housing bubble crisis, resulting in a deep recession. During this time Spaniard citizens have been demoralized by rising unemployment, which has risen to nearly 22%, the highest in the industrial world (“asiaone business”). Is the housing crisis the only thing to blame? Or is Spain’s involvement in the globalization experiment, the EU, also to blame.

Since joining the EU Spain has had to make many sacrifices to keep the member countries happy that they would not have had to do if they were not affiliated with these other countries. A major sacrifice they have had to make is in their fishing industry. This industry is a large part of the Spanish economy employing over 500,000 Spaniards with around 18,000 fishing vessels. Since joining the EU Spain and Morocco have had many complications over the fishing grounds that border both countries, and Spain has been required to cut their catches by up to 40% to keep Morocco happy. This has not helped an already sputtering economy (Beloff).

Spain’s involvement with the globalization craze has not worked so well for them in recent years. Spain has set themselves up for a lot of risk without much reward back from the Union. This shows that sometimes a thriving entity that tries to expand and make itself better just ends up developing unneeded risk as Spain has shown through the European Union experiment.

The positive effects of globalization in Spain

Globalization allows companies to find lower-cost ways to produce their products. It also increases global competition, which drives prices down and creates a larger variety of choices for consumers. Lowered costs help people in both developing and already-developed countries live better on less money.

TOURISM IN SPAIN

Tourism in Spain is a major contributor to national economic life, contributing to about 11.8% of Spain's GDP (in 2017). Ever since the 1960s and 1970s, the country has been a popular destination for summer holidays, especially with large numbers of tourists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, the Benelux, and the United States, among others. Accordingly, Spain's foreign tourist industry has grown into the second-biggest in the world.

In 2019, Spain was the second most visited country in the world, recording 83.7 million tourists which marked the seventh consecutive year of record-beating numbers. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in the first eleven months of the year 2020, only 18.3 million tourists visited Spain. These dramatic figures are devastating for the tourism sector and are a reflection of what will be the worst year for this industry in terms of income ever recorded.

Spain ranks first among 140 countries in the biannual Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum in 2019, matching the top position already achieved in 2017 and 2015. The World Tourism Organization has its headquarters in Madrid. According to The Economist 2005 year list, Spain has the world's 10th highest quality of life.

ENDINGS

Spain is a most fitting location to reflect on international economic developments, given its spectacular embrace of the global economy over the past few decades, and its remarkable political transformation—allowing it to assume its rightful place among the leading democratic nations

Spain's economic freedom score is 68.2, making its economy the 41st freest in the 2022 Index. Spain is ranked 26th among 45 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is below the regional average but above the world average. Economic growth in Spain slowed from 2017 through 2019. The Spanish economy has steadily surpassed that of its European counterparts over the last five years, in pre-pandemic circumstances. With a GDP of $1.2 billion, Spain is the 4th economy of the EU - save for that of the United Kingdom - and the 14th in the world.

By various authors

Created By
Salvatore Venturella
Appreciate

Credits:

Creato con immagini di marcin jucha - "Traditional spanish paella with seafood" • weyo - "Attractive happy young girl with the flag of the European Union" • Tadas - "Summer Beach From Above" • Anton Ivanov Photo - "It's Hsinbyume Pagoda (Myatheindan), a large pagoda on the northern side of Mingun, Sagaing Region in Myanmar, the western bank of the Irrawaddy River" • rh2010 - "Young woman in red dress with hand fan and photo camera enjoying beautiful cityscape view on Valencia city during the sunny weather in Spain" • Anibal Trejo - "Favaritx Lighthouse in Minorca, Spain."