Key topics

This report analyses the state of Shadow Education (SE) in Spain using the latest available wave of the National Statistics Institute’s (INE) Household Education Expenditure Survey (EGHE 2023/24) and compares it with the immediately preceding available wave (2019/20), analysed in detail in the EsadeEcPol report by Moreno and Martínez (2023). We find that aggregate spending […]

Supported by Google ↓ Download the full report A new wave of AI-based tools is arriving on the heels of two decades of ICT in Spanish classrooms. Access, regulation, and investment are largely in place; whether this wave translates into improved learning depends on robust, evidence-based implementation. Basic evidence on what would work Lessons learned […]

In Spain, the maximum number of pupils per classroom is 25 in Primary education and 30 in lower secondary education (ESO). On 11 November 2025, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport (MEFPD) presented the draft Bill to reduce the maximum class size to 22 pupils in Primary and 25 in ESO, and to […]

En este artículo evaluamos el impacto de los incentivos generados para la vacunación por el pasaporte COVID para acceder a espacios públicos en Francia, Alemania e Italia.

Ómicron supone un paso crucial en la conversión de pandemia a endemia: nos confirma que el SARS-CoV-2 es un virus con el que probablemente conviviremos durante un largo tiempo.

¿Cómo queda la foto de las desigualdades causadas por la pandemia, un año y medio después de la eclosión global del virus?

Con el apoyo de Ingeus ↓ Descarga el informe completo El mercado laboral español mantiene desequilibrios estructurales significativos: las altas tasas de desempleo —general, juvenil y de larga duración— representan un desafío fundamental. Este reto se intensifica en comunidades autónomas con desempleo elevado y baja actividad laboral. Además, ciertos colectivos (como personas con menor cualificación, migrantes […]

In collaboration with Implement Consulting Group · With the support of Google ↓ Download the report  AI offers great potential to improve the delivery of public services while addressing particularly pressing challenges in the current Spanish context, such as reducing bureaucratic burdens and improving interactions with citizens. In a context like the current one, with […]

This paper evaluates the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on productivity and work inequality. I run a Randomized Controlled Trial in a university debating competition, in which I randomly assign GenAI support to students to prepare a series of one-on-one debates. This novel setting allows me to measure productivity improvements in a task involving […]

This report examines Spain’s position in the green economy, analysing its productive capabilities, the competitiveness of its exports and its diversification potential. To do so, it draws on R&D investment data and on the Green Transition Navigator to identify opportunities for Spain to thrive in green export markets amid the global energy transition. Spanish R&D […]

Decarbonization, inevitable in the current context, presents an opportunity to develop technologies that drive the energy transition. While Spain has experienced a decline in its industrial sector, the shift to a decarbonized economy opens a window to reverse this trend. The goal is not just reindustrialization but doing so in high-value-added sectors that promote quality […]

The adoption of cleaner or more efficient technologies usually occurs earlier in higher-income households or those defined by other variables facilitating the costs associated with such adoption. In a context where the shared objective is decarbonizing the economy, public policy should ensure that adoption is as comprehensive and equitable as possible, making these technologies equally […]

Spain has made significant progress in reducing the gender pay gap between 2010 and 2022, although substantial disparities remain. Our analysis of Spanish labor market data indicates a clear downward trend in the wage gap between men and women, alongside evidence that structural barriers continue to impede equality. The main findings are: Reduction of the […]

In recent years, paternity leave permits in Spain haves been progressively extended until to becominge the most generous ones in the OECD. Since 2021, paternity leave in Spain is 16 weeks, matching the length of maternity leave. This level has been achieved through successive reforms that have increased the length of leave from 2 weeks […]

This study proposes the most in-depth and detailed analysis of gender inequality in STEM fields in Spain to date. Distinctively, we focus on areas with a significant emphasis on mathematics, where the most pronounced gaps occur; we cover everything from basic education, thanks to the latest PISA results, to the professional career, for which we […]

Population ageing poses one of the most significant fiscal challenges Spain will face over the coming decades. This policy brief applies the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) methodology to quantify how the taxes paid and public benefits received are distributed across the life cycle in Spain in 2024. The fiscal life cycle: →   A representative individual […]

With the execution deadline of August 2026 already in sight, EsadeEcPol presents the update of its NextGenEU Tracker with data as of 12 March 2026. The report examines a programme entering its final sprint: progress is substantial, but the gap between called and awarded funds, fund concentration, and administrative bottlenecks pose critical challenges in the […]

→ Geoeconomic tensions have spurred diversification strategies such as China+1, nearshoring, and friendshoring, reshaping value chains to reduce concentration risks in China. → Although Chinese exports are rerouted through third countries (Mexico, Vietnam), recent U.S. “Liberation Day” tariffs curb these tactics, yet six in ten companies have already altered their logistics routes in 2025. → […]

Martin Sandbu is the European economic commentator for the Financial Times. In this conversation, Toni Roldán (director of EsadeEcPol) discusses with him the key economic challenges facing Western market economies and how they are deeply entrenched with the current wave of populist elections across democracies. Roldán and Sandbu build on Sandbu’s book, The Economics of […]

Last Tuesday, November 28th, we talked about our book “Un País Posible: Manual de Reformas Políticamente Viables” (Un País Posible: A Handbook of Politically Viable Reforms) thanks to the invitation of the Harvard Kennedy School Spain Alumni Network. The conversation counted with the interventions of Toni Roldán, Miguel Almunia, Marta Suárez-Varela and Antonio Cabrales and […]

España tiene prácticamente la misma renta real per capita que hace 15 años, mientras que otros países de nuestro entorno son mucho más ricos que entonces. Esto significa que en los últimos dieciocho años no hemos mejorado, de media, nuestro nivel de vida. Nos encontramos, por tanto, en el camino hacia dos décadas perdidas. Hay […]

In this article, originally published in the Economic and Financial Report released in March 2025 with the support of Banco Sabadell, Jordi Fabregat—professor at Esade and board member of the Esade Alumni Real Estate Club—explores how models such as senior living or student residences could alleviate pressure on the conventional rental market. These alternatives respond […]

In this article, originally published in the Economic and Financial Report we issued in March 2025 with the support of Banco Sabadell, economist and TecnoCampus professor Josep Maria Raya conducts an in-depth analysis of the rental market, highlighting that: Seasonal rentals and room rentals are increasing, attracting supply away from long-term rentals. Regulatory uncertainty and […]

In this article originally published in the *Informe Económico y Financiero* that we released in March 2025 with the support of Banco Sabadell, Professor Joan Monràs reviews the four forces that have converged to push up housing demand: less construction, credit regulation after the crisis, the tourism boom, and the pandemic. This shock puts pressure […]