Every six months, with the support of Banco Sabadell, Esade publishes its Economic and Financial Report, which now reaches its 39th edition under the title \u201cEnergy capabilities for a new economic era.\u201d With it, Esade upholds its commitment to contributing to public debate through rigorous, plural analysis that, as a leading school backed by its entire academic community, reinforces its dedication to economic and social progress.<\/p>\n
In his welcome article, the Report’s academic director, Omar Rachedi, starts from a twofold observation: Spain once again reaches this stage of the cycle in a comparatively favourable position \u2014with sustained growth above the eurozone average, a dynamic labour market and a more robust external position\u2014 but it does so in an international environment that has changed in nature. Rachedi argues that energy has ceased to be just another cost for the economy and has become an infrastructure of competitiveness, security and strategic autonomy, and that the next technological wave, with artificial intelligence at its core, will turn energy policy into technology policy as well.<\/p>\n
The international outlook note, by Josep M. Comajuncosa, then analyses how the energy shock stemming from the conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have flipped the dominant risk: less fear of an immediate recession and more concern about persistent inflation. The IMF projects global growth of 3.1% in 2026, with the euro area slowing to 1.1%, and sets out two scenarios depending on how energy prices evolve. On the domestic front, Manuel Hidalgo describes \u201cthe moment of transition\u201d: a Spanish economy settling into growth of 2.2%\u20132.3% in 2026 and converging gradually towards its underlying potential growth (1.6%\u20131.9%), in a context where the drivers of the last cycle \u2014immigration, tourism, European funds and monetary policy\u2014 are running out of steam almost simultaneously, and where the challenge shifts from the demand side to the supply side.<\/p>\n
In the debate section, four authors examine the energy capabilities of Spain and Europe. Marta Su\u00e1rez-Varela (Banco de Espa\u00f1a) reviews what Europe has done since the invasion of Ukraine \u2014supplier reconfiguration, the shift towards liquefied natural gas, more renewables and efficiency\u2014 and what it needs from now on: flexibility, interconnections and storage. Pedro Linares (Comillas ICAI and EsadeEcPol) analyses the pending challenges of the energy transition in transport, industry and buildings, and the need for an investment framework that allows the vast majority of final energy uses to be electrified. Gonzalo Escribano (Real Instituto Elcano and UNED) examines the fossil reconfiguration and strategic decarbonisation after the war in Iran, with the notion of \u201cselective fortification\u201d as Europe’s response. And Enrico Bergamini (GREF, Esade) argues that the energy and technology crises are turning green industrial policy into an existential question for Europe, caught between the US \u201cpetrostate\u201d and the Chinese \u201celectrostate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, the report is rounded off with Antonio Garc\u00eda Maldonado’s reviews of two recent books: \u201cLa maldici\u00f3n del ganador. Anomal\u00edas de la psicolog\u00eda econ\u00f3mica: pasado y presente,\u201d by Richard Thaler and Alex O. Imas (Deusto, 2026), and \u201cLa era de las revoluciones. Avances y retrocesos desde 1600 hasta nuestros d\u00edas,\u201d by Fareed Zakaria (Debate, 2026).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every six months, with the support of Banco Sabadell, Esade publishes its Economic and Financial Report, which now reaches its 39th edition under the title \u201cEnergy capabilities for a new economic era.\u201d With it, Esade upholds its commitment to contributing to public debate through rigorous, plural analysis that, as a leading school backed by its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13622,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n