Spain’s Miracle Economy: What They Got Right (That We Didn’t) with Joe Haslam

We're back in Spain, and I’ve got questions. Why is Spain growing faster than Germany, France, and even the US? Why can they build high-speed rail for a fraction of the cost, and why are they the only major EU country where immigration is boosting GDP without blowing up politics?

This week, we talk to Professor Joe Haslam in Madrid about what’s being called Europe’s miracle economy. Since COVID, Spain’s growth has outpaced every major European economy, driven by smart immigration (nearly 1 million working Latin Americans), a tourism boom (especially in the cooling north), and €160 billion in EU funds that they’ve actually used. But it’s not all cerveza and sunshine. Spain’s power grid recently collapsed for nine hours, revealing the fragility of the green energy transition. Despite the boom, Spain’s productivity and housing market are heading the wrong way. Public servants now outnumber private sector workers, and even El Guapo himself, PM Pedro Sánchez, is afraid to touch buy-to-lets. We also dig into what Spain’s infrastructure success says about Ireland’s failure. Is it Napoleon vs. Wellington all over again? Because if you inherited the Napoleonic state, like Spain did, you can build metros, fast trains, and affordable housing. If you inherited British common law? You get planning objections and overpriced shoeboxes in Drimnagh.

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