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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.