Housing has become one of the most politically charged economic issues in Spain. Rising rents, the difficulty of finding available apartments, and the increasingly delayed transition of many young people into independent living generate understandable frustration. When access to an essential good becomes difficult, the temptation quickly arises to identify a visible culprit: landlords, property platforms, investment funds, speculators, or simply “the market.”
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The Hidden Costs of Europe’s Energy Transition: Cheap Generation Is Not the Same as Cheap Electricity
Europe’s energy transition is usually described through a relatively simple set of numbers: how many solar panels have been installed, how much wind capacity has been added, how quickly emissions are falling, and how much fossil-fuel consumption has been displaced. These indicators matter. But they do not tell us whether the transition is economically well designed.
Continue readingFrom the Alps to the Mediterranean: Cities, Institutions, and the Long Course of European History
Travel becomes much more interesting to me when a city is not treated simply as a collection of landmarks. A cathedral is also evidence of religious institutions, accumulated capital, technology, and political authority. A medieval city gate tells us something about security and collective organization. A stock exchange reveals another stage in the development of commerce. Even the location of a city may help explain why it became wealthy, politically important, or repeatedly contested. Seen this way, traveling through Europe can become a form of reading history in physical space.
Continue readingAn Economist’s Reflections on the Recent Eviction Case Involving an 82-Year-Old Woman in Madrid
In recent days, the temporary suspension of the eviction of an 82-year-old woman in Madrid has attracted considerable media attention. As an economist, I believe cases like this deserve careful analysis based on the facts, rather than solely on the emotions they inevitably provoke.
Continue readingFrom the European Parliament to the Mediterranean: Rethinking Spain’s Role in Europe’s Energy Architecture
On June 30, I had the opportunity to present at the European Parliament as part of the project Independent Voltage: European Grid Resilience, Energy Sovereignty and EU Compatibility Standards, led by the European Liberal Forum. My contribution examined Spain’s position within the European electricity system and, more specifically, the combination of infrastructure, regulatory compatibility, investment incentives, and market reform that will be necessary if Spain is to contribute more effectively to European energy security without sacrificing economic competitiveness.
Continue readingHow Long Should It Take to Start a Business? Economic Freedom, Bureaucracy, and the Jobs Spain Never Sees
How long should a citizen have to wait before being allowed to create a firm? The question sounds administrative, but it is fundamentally economic and political. A new firm is not merely a registration in a government database. It can become a workplace, a source of income for a family, a competitor that forces established firms to improve, or the first opportunity for someone who has been unemployed to enter the labor market. When the state makes entry unnecessarily slow, expensive, or uncertain, the cost is therefore borne not only by the entrepreneur standing at the administrative counter. It is also borne by people whose jobs, wages, products, and opportunities may never come into existence.
Continue readingWho Really Pays the Corporate Tax? Investment, Jobs, and the Politics of Taxing Firms
A corporate tax is legally paid by a corporation, but a corporation is not a person standing apart from society with an independent capacity to bear economic pain. A firm is a network of workers, owners, consumers, suppliers, and investments. When government taxes corporate profits, the legal liability may appear on the company’s tax return, but the economic burden can be distributed through lower returns to owners, weaker investment, lower wages, fewer jobs, or higher prices. This is why corporate taxation is not a technical argument about whether one sympathizes with “business.” It is a question about capital formation and, ultimately, about the opportunities available to ordinary people.
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