Weekend Economists and the Accidental President December 13-15, 2013

[Ghost Dog]

8. What does Spain make?

Last edited Sat Dec 14, 2013, 10:27 AM - Edit history (1)

A useful list in the comments to this piece on the Sheldon Adelson 'EuroVegas' withdrawal/defeat:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/spain-eurovegas-us-casino-operator-pulls-plug

so I'm sharing here (with my comments added).

MartynInEurope pconl

14 December 2013 9:37am
Recommend 4

"The problem with the Spanish economy is fixation on tourism and construction"

Not so...

What does Spain make?

Well, amongst other things (and it should be emphasised that all these are export products and/or are markets in which Spanish companies operate internationally):

- Spain today is the world's eighth largest producer of automobiles and its car market stands among the largest in Europe (I've read that only Germany manufactures more cars than Spain).
- Automobile components and tires
- Home electronic products/domestic appliances (ovens, hobs, fridge/freezers, etc.)
- Major civil and military aviation components (and a large arms industry in general)
- Aeronautical engine and gas turbines
- Complex (including aerospace, space, medical, scientific) systems (e.g. INDRA)
- Electronics
- Ships and boats
- Textiles
- Apparel (e.g. ZARA, Jooma, etc) (some of the sexiest clothes designs in the world)
- Foods and beverages (including olive oil and wine) (and much, much more, including a rapidly-growing 'organic' food ('ecological' it's called here; quality is strictly controlled) sector)
- Metals and metal products
- Chemicals
- Machine tools
- Clay and refractory products (tiles, porcelain wash basins, toilets, etc.)
- Footwear
- Parmaceuticals, and medical equipment.
- Furniture
- Petroleum, gas, alternative energy generation
- Telecommunications
- Public works / Infrastructure development (roads, bridges, etc.) (all over the world)
- Shipping
- Trains (trains and carriages) (e.g. CAF, Talgo) (and entire (including high-speed) rail infrastructure projects, all over the world)
- Transportation
- Tourism and Hospitality Industry (not jut located in Spain) (Large and small Spanish companies operate in these markets worldwide)
- Entertainment, art, culture (World class, of course)

Etc. etc. etc.

Spain even manufactures and exports snowmobiles and golf carts (and, no doubt, personal mobility vehicles).