Las fuerzas del desarrollo en la economía vasca desde la Edad de Oro a la Gran Recesión y más allá

The Basque economy achieved high comparative levels of productivity in the so-called «Golden Age» of capitalism, only to suffer relatively major losses with the «Great Crisis» of the 1970s. In the period that began with the accession to the European Community in 1986 there was a great leap forward in total factor productivity, which was maintained subsequently in the long cycle of growth that followed, until it was again cut back with the latest recession. The intense process of deepening of capital that took place suggests a convergence of technologies with the most advanced economies, but cannot hide broad gaps in capital productivity with regard to the cutting edge of production as represented by the USA. In the future potential growth is expected to decrease to around 2%, and there will be a need to deal with the dilemma of productivity versus employment. The indications are that the economy may initially focus on the latter, and then the former with the help of economic policies.