Up until today, the debate on the economic impact of an eventual
independence of Catalonia has centered itself in an almost exclusive
manner on two issues: the dividend that an end to the fiscal deficit
with Spain would mean, and the cost of a possible boycott of Catalan
products. These are, without a doubt, two important factors and they
must be taken into account when evaluating the economic profitability
of independence. But the emphasis on these two issues reflects an
attitude similar to that of a passive investor or stockholder who
focuses solely on how their shares or dividends might increase or
decrease after a business has changed hands. This attitude would
contrast with that of the investor who is actively involved in a
company, and who recognizes that they have been given an opportunity
to have an influence, through their decisions, on the profits the
company will generate and, thus, on the return on their investment.
In the case of an independent Catalonia, this opportunity means the
possibility to design the institutions and regulations a new State
from scratch, and it also means having at our disposal a wide array of
economic policy instruments that are currently under the almost
exclusive control of the Spanish Government and Parliament. This would
allow us to define our own policies and a new regulatory framework for
the labor, fiscal and financial sectors, among others, as well as the
functioning of all the areas of public administration, with no more
additional restrictions than those coming from European regulations.
Given the importance these decisions would have on determining how
prosperous the new State would be (and thus, the attractiveness of the
pro-sovereignty option), it would be a good idea to enrich the current
debate with proposals that answered the following question:
independence, to do what?
Here I must confess that the prospect of a Catalonia-State is not
something that I feel unconditionally attracted to. To better
understand what I mean, and carrying this argument to the extreme, if
independence turns Catalonia into a new Cuba or North Korea in the
Mediterranean, I think that we should just forget about the whole
thing. If I am attracted to the pro-sovereignty option it is because
of the opportunity and possibilities that it offers. In all fields,
but especially in the field of economics. To make it crystal clear, I
am attracted to the opportunity and the possibilities that the
building of a new State offers, a State that has, among its basic
objectives, that of achieving a maximum sustainable growth and that,
therefore, designs its institutions and regulations in accordance with
this objective from day one. When it comes to the economy, this
objective will surely garner a wide consensus as long as we leave
aside ideologies and partisanship, and look beyond legitimate
discrepancies when it comes time to define the specific policies to be
implemented. Among other reasons, because I don't believe that there
is a credible alternative if we want to bring an end to the
unemployment affliction (the most perverse source of inequality) and
maintain a quality welfare State.
The report Doing Business, published annually by the World Bank,
offers us a way of measuring our potential in this sense. In their
latest edition they situated Spain in position 44 (out of 183
countries) of their global ranking based on "ease of doing business"
(with Puerto Rico and Columbia ahead of it, and followed by Rwanda and
Tunisia). In some of the sub-indicators the situation is appalling
(for example, Spain is ranked 133 in terms of ease of starting a new
business). This report and other similar ones, such as the World
Competitiveness Report, only confirm what is evident for any business
manager: the Spanish institutional framework is far from being ideal
for the generation of wealth based on productivity. The building of a
new State offers, therefore, a unique opportunity to start, from
scratch, an ambitious and engaging process that looks to the future
without being weighted down by the past.
In my opinion, the economic attractiveness of an independent Catalonia
would be further increased if the following principles (without this
being an exhaustive list) were taken into account in the building of
this new State:
1. The need for a new public administration model based on the
principles of austerity, efficiency, and quality service to citizens.
To satisfy this need would require, in my opinion, the introduction of
business management criteria into the way we run our public
administration, with strict accountability and incentives based on
individual productivity. The obsolete, discriminatory and
anti-economic figure of the civil servant, like that of the feudal
knight, should become a thing of the past. The management system for
the Catalan Government's research centers, based on management
autonomy, accountability, and incentives linked to the excellence of
results offers a widely recognized model of success that could make up
the core of the future Catalan administration.
2. The supreme importance of simple, fast, and efficient
administrative and legal procedures that maximize a person's legal
protection and fully guarantee their rights. Any resources that could
be invested in this field would see an immense social return.
3. The need for a flexible labor framework, with a single indefinite
contract that puts an end to the current duality, and where the role
of the courts is not to "decide for companies," but instead that is
restricted to guaranteeing respect for established procedures and for
a lack of discrimination.
4. A taxation system for companies and workers that favors foreign
investment and the attraction of talent. The end to the fiscal deficit
and a prioritization of the battle against fraud should offer enough
leeway for this new tax regime.
5. The adoption of English as a third official language, emphasizing
its role as a language that connects us to the world, including the
connection between international companies and professionals and the
administration. To do so would require an intense literacy campaign
with the collaboration of the media and the schools. This would also
be, without a doubt, a key element in the internationalization of
Catalan companies and the reduction of their excessive dependency on
the Spanish market that, despite the advances in the last few decades,
still is disproportionate considering the relative insignificance of
this market in the global economy (0.6% of the world's population and
1,7% of the world GDP, once Catalonia is excluded).
6. A quality welfare State that is generous to the underprivileged,
but with few distortions and disincentives, and that relentlessly
fights fraud.
In summary, and to draw this article to a close: I believe that it is
important to recognize that the independence of Catalonia, in and of
itself, could make us richer (because we would end the fiscal
deficit), but not necessarily more productive. This second aspect
would require us to make good use, the day after the celebrations are
over, of the unique opportunity and the enormous possibilities offered
by the building of a new State. Whether we are prepared for this
challenge or not will depend exclusively on us, and we will no longer
be able to lay the blame on others. In the end, maybe that would be
the best gift that independence could bring us.
http://intocabledigital.cat/independence-to-do-what/39390/
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