Informe Económico y Financiero #33

For more than fifteen years, every six months Esade has published the Informe Económico y Financiero (Economic and Financial Report) with the support of Banco Sabadell. With this report, Esade seeks to stay true to its mission and contribute to society with what it does best, providing knowledge to improve public debate. The Report thus aims to offer a snapshot of the global and Spanish economic landscape and, in each edition, focuses on an issue of particular relevance to current economic affairs. This 33rd edition includes an analysis of the current situation and trends of the Spanish and international economy, and looks in depth at the consequences of the emergence of generative artificial intelligence for the economy and society. 

Toni Roldán, director of the Informe Económico y Financiero, highlights in his welcome article that, although the economic forecasts for Spain are more favourable than those for the rest of the European Union, our economy is not immune to the global context and suffers from its own vulnerabilities. Next, Josep Comajuncosa, associate professor in Esade’s Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, presents the analysis of the international economic situation. Comajuncosa warns that economic indicators point to a clear slowdown in the international economy during the second half of 2023. Second, Manuel Hidalgo, professor of Economics at Pablo de Olavide University, senior fellow at EsadeEcPol and co-director of the NextGenEU Observatory, highlights that the data are beginning to show a clear erosion of private consumption, probably due to the impact of interest rate rises.   

In the debate section, four authors analyse the emergence of artificial intelligence in different areas of our society. Núria Agell and Queralt Prat-i-Pubill open the section with an article on the opportunities arising from this technological revolution, as well as the challenges we face in the governance and understanding of these technologies. Next, Mariano Fernández Enguita reflects on the uses of artificial intelligence by teachers and students in education. Manuel Cebrián, for his part, explores how these technologies can boost business innovation thanks to their capacity to generate multiple ideas with little effort and few resources. Ana Bayona, from Esade, closes the section by analysing how human behaviour changes when people interact with AI agents rather than with their peers. 

Finally, Antonio García Maldonado reviews two books: «The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism» by Martin Wolf and «Democracy’s Discontent» by Michael J. Sandel.