Professors Form 'Wilson Initiative' to Promote Independence from Spain
Jan. 24, 2014 - BARCELONA — In the sulfurous debate over the future of Spain's wealthy Catalonia region,
Xavier Sala-i-Martin
is the most notable and quotable member of a self-styled truth squad of pro-independence Catalan economists.
When
the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain warned in October
that talk of a breakup was making foreign investors skittish, Mr.
Sala-i-Martin retorted on Catalan radio that Spain was a "midget market"
and globalized Catalonia would thrive on its own.
Amid
rumors that elderly Catalans would lose their public pensions in a
split, the economist went on his blog to assail the talk as a lie,
adding that an independent Catalonia might be able to raise pensions by
10%.
"Since 1800, 22 former Spanish colonies have become independent," said Mr. Sala-i-Martin, a Columbia
University professor who co-wrote an economics textbook and helped
develop the Global Competitiveness Report for this past week's World
Economic Forum in Davos. "None of them regrets it." Mr.
Sala-i-Martin is one of six respected Catalan academics who have
stepped from the ivory tower into a political battle with high stakes
for Spain and the rest of the European Union—including its common currency.
They are high-profile protagonists in a
long-running public debate over what Catalonia, the so-called factory of
Spain, could gain or lose from breaking away.
Buoyed
by polls showing majority support for secession, the Catalan parliament
in Barcelona this month voted to hold a referendum on Nov. 9. The
central government in Madrid has vowed to block a vote, which it says
would be unconstitutional, but that hasn't quieted the debate.
On blogs, in interviews and in meetings with business and citizen groups, the six academics argue that Spain's system of sharing tax revenues among the 17 regions
shortchanges Catalonia by about €16 billion ($22 billion) annually. That
amounts to more than €2,000 per inhabitant, or around 8% of Catalonia's
output, based on public tax and investment data, the academics say.
They
argue that the northeastern region of 7.5 million people could become
not only a viable country, but quite possibly an economic juggernaut.
Catalonia,
which has a distinctive culture and language, has long had a strained
relationship with Madrid, but the collapse of Spain's economy in 2008
has left regions scrambling for resources and brought tensions to a boil.
The
scholars—five economists and a political scientist from Harvard,
Princeton, Columbia, the London School of Economics and prominent
institutions—call themselves the
Wilson Initiative,
after U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson,
a champion of national self-determination.
While
acknowledging their influence, some other economists say the big-name
professors overstate the potential benefits of independence while
understating the transition costs and the risk that Spain could splinter
further.
The critics note that while
sales of goods from Catalan companies to the rest of the world—€58
billion in 2012—surpassed their €49 billion in sales to the rest of
Spain that year, Spain still accounts for a massive chunk.
(....)Read the complete notice: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304632204579336673963940580?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304632204579336673963940580.html
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada