Stiglitz: an independent Catalonia would be economically viable

BarcelonaEconomy Nobel Prize laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz stated this week that an independent Catalonia would be economically viable, although secession would have “far-reaching” political consequences all over Europe.

During his stay in Barcelona city following the publication of his latest book (The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe), Stiglitz noted that in the current globalisation environment small countries “find it easier” to operate independently.

He cited Iceland as an example, a country ten times smaller than Catalonia that “is doing relatively well with a different currency”.

At a press event held in Barcelona’s Palau Macaya, a centre run by La Caixa’s Obra Social, the economist said that “after the crisis, Iceland has got back on its feet better and faster thanks to that”.

Likewise, Stiglitz remarked, today nobody would argue that Canada might be better off if it became part of the US.

So when asked whether an independent Catalonia would be financially viable, Stiglitz answered that “in the current context of open markets, I think it would; things would work out for Catalonia as an independent country”.

Still, the political consequences of secession, both for Spain and Europe as a whole, would be a different matter altogether, as Catalonia’s hypothetical secession would lead to a reshuffling of the nation-states that were born in the 19th century.

Stiglitz noted that “this would have dire consequences for those states” and he questioned whether Europe would be able to work and manage itself properly, if there were many more member states than there are today.

The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe is published in Catalan by Edicions 62 and in Spanish by Taurus. In his new book, Stiglitz analyses how in 2010 the global financial crisis turned into the euro crisis that we are still immersed in, and how this situation jeopardises the future of Europe.