Spain's Membership in the EU and the European Welfare State

Abstract

Membership in the EEC/EU has brought incentives for Spain to achieve economic ‘real’ convergence. Figures of economic growth are significant in this respect: in 1985 the per head income in purchasing power parity (PPP) was 70.6 percent of EU's mean; in 2007, it had already reached 103.0 percent regarding the UE-27. During the last 25 years, Spain’s welfare has converged with those more mature systems of social protection in the EU. Social spending has grown at both a quicker and higher pace as compared to other European countries. The process of Europeanization has had a great impact in Spain’s welfare development. This paper reviews social developments in Spain having as analytical reference the European welfare state in its diverse institutionalizations. Spanish welfare state appears as a via media between corporatist Continental, liberal Anglo-Saxon, and social-democratic Nordic worlds of welfare capitalism.