Conceivably, these differences might be heavily influenced by the relatively recent nature of our educational development; but looking at the percentages for young people in the 25-34 age group, it can be seen that, despite the progress recorded, a gap exists which, though moderate (64% in Spain compared with figures of over 80% in most of the major countries), remains illustrative of our continuing laggardness. In the current decentralised State, the central government retains few responsibilities in respect of education, which means that educational progress in Spain is fundamentally in the hands of the regional governments. These may thus be said to have a major responsibility in determining our longterm growth prospects and the future functioning of the Spanish economy. And this conclusion is further reinforced when considering the changes that have come about in budgetary policies. Hence,  4  BIS Review 32/2007  insofar as the decentralised structure of the State has played a very positive role in growth in the recent past, as I said at the start of my address, when speaking of the future it emerges once again as a determinant of the first order. As is known, public spending by territorial governments is more than two and a half times that of central government. It is clear from this that what regional and local governments do is, for the purposes of maintaining the public spending/GDP ratio, much more important than what central government does.
Miguel Fernández Ordóñez: The biggest risk - complacency Address by Mr Miguel Fernández Ordóñez, Governor of the Bank of Spain, delivered to the Círculo de Economía, Barcelona, 31 January 2007. * * * I very much appreciate the opportunity provided to me by the Círculo de Economía to deliver this address at this time, just as the figures for last year have been released. In terms of the Spanish economy's performance, the figures speak for themselves and confirm a favourable short-term outlook. Against this background, I think it is very important to reflect on the underpinnings of the economy’s trajectory, in order to identify those factors that are genuinely relevant for projecting ahead the progress that has been achieved in recent decades. I have therefore thought it best to adopt a long-term approach for this speech, going beyond conjunctural analysis. And with the title I have chosen, I have sought precisely to stress that when things are going well and the outlook is favourable, the biggest risk is complacency. The year 2006 ended in Spain with growth at around 3.8%, outperforming the seven biggest industrialised countries. This is the first time in many years that this has happened. Not only has growth in Spain been higher than in the euro area countries, but it has also been higher than in the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States, which in recent years had been growing at a rate above Spain.