Pablo Hernández de Cos: Challenges for the Spanish economy. Productivity and the business sector

Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain, at the Assembly of the Instituto de la Empresa Familiar, Madrid, 7 May 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Good morning. Let me begin by thanking the Instituto de la Empresa Familiar (IEF) for their kind invitation to take part in their Annual Assembly.

Throughout its 25-year history, the IEF has not only played a crucial role in disseminating studies on the reality of and the challenges facing family businesses in our country, but has also fostered debate on many economic aspects of general interest. One recent example is its interesting publication on dual training on its website.

In my address today I shall, after briefly describing the current economic setting, mainly analyse the principal challenges facing our economy in the medium and long term. I will particularly focus on productivity, the main determinant of economic growth in the long run.