Construction industry in Spain, is it guilty of the current crisis?

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the construction sector in Spain over the last decade. Several indicators are constructed based on Input–Output tables that demonstrate that the importance attributed to this sector does not correspond to its true role in the overall Spanish economy. Although it is true that the construction industry is important for other sectors of the economy, it is also true that the sector shows indicators that are average for the Spanish economy and lower than those of the industrial sector.

Keywords:

• industry
• construction
• Input–Output

JEL Classification:

• L74
• D57

Notes

¹ Employment is defined as the number of employment relationships measured in terms of the equivalent of full-time jobs held.

² An autonomous community is a territorial entity which, within the constitution of Spain, is granted legislative autonomy and executive ability as well as the authority for self-administration through its own representatives. Spain has 17 autonomies and 2 autonomous cities. Regarding the selection of Aragon Counties, although specific, it is representative since it has income in line with the European average (of the 15 countries then composing the EU) and a productive structure (services – industry – agriculture) with values close to the European norms. In addition, it is an open economy perfectly integrated in Europe, as its volume of exports reflects (National Institute of Statistics 2009).

³ INE: National Statistics Institute.

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge funding from MICINN-FEDER through research project ECO2012-36290-C03-01 and from through COMPETE and CREVALOR research groups.