The “good rhythm” of the Catalan economy: resilience, return of tourism and more exports.

The Catalan economy has closed 2022 with a “good rhythm” and a growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of 5.5% thanks to the resilience of the Catalan economy. Catalonia, to face the increase in prices and the energy crisis, has relied on three fundamental pillars: the resilience of household consumption, the recovery of foreign tourism and the increase in exports of goods.

To define 2022, we should look at five global shocks, of which the cost of financing and core inflation levels are the only ones that have not improved. For Carme Poveda, director of the Economic Memory of Catalonia, they are the following:

• The spread of the omicron variant of covid-19
• Supply chain problems
• Rising energy prices
• Core inflation
• The cost of financing

It should also be noted that an important point has been the attraction of foreign investment in industry and in the ICT sector, which represents 52%. On the other hand, we also find considerable changes in the occupational structure, for example, with the increase in workers in the public sector, although the loss of purchasing power of wages in Catalonia in 2022 was 5.5%.

One of the priorities of the Catalan economy at present is the importance of increasing R&D on a European scale, since the European average exceeds 2% while here we remain at 1.64%, a figure that could become the Historic opportunity to lead digital and sustainable transformation with the support of Next Generation funds. Another of the priorities still pending is the volume of public debt, which remains at very high rates.

For 2023, a good evolution is expected in the first semester with tourism, employment, the moderation of inflation and European funds. A slowdown is also expected at the end of the year with the impact of interest rates and weakness in Europe, but we can conclude that what will determine economic growth in the coming years will be monetary policy.