And along with income-sustaining measures (such as the minimum living income), they will help reduce inequality in Spain. Inequality levels, which were higher at the onset of this crisis than at the start of the previous one, will probably rise further in the coming quarters, given that this crisis is affecting groups with relatively low incomes to a greater extent. Nor can we forget the need to address ongoing population ageing which, among other aspects, will most appreciably influence the behaviour of the labour market, growth dynamics and the main fiscal magnitudes in the coming decades. It is also a first-order challenge for our pension system. And, of course, the Spanish economy must be nimble and proactive so as to harness the new opportunities that arise from combating climate change and from the transition to a more sustainable economy, from the changes in the globalisation model and from the foreseeable acceleration in the digitalisation of the economy. The prompt design of a medium-term fiscal consolidation programme for gradual implementation once the crisis is behind us After the pandemic, the Spanish economy will post the highest levels of public debt in many decades, partly as a result of the necessary fiscal expansion in the short term. Accordingly, it is also necessary to design a plan to restore health to the public finances in the medium term, the application of which, in any event, will have to be postponed until the recovery is firmly rooted.
“The Credit Rating Crisis”, NBER Working Paper, 15045. Freixas X., Parigi B. and J. Rochet (2000). “Systemic Risk, Inter-Bank Realtions and Liquidity Provision by the Central Bank”, Journal of Money and Credit Banking, 32(2). BIS Review 97/2009  3  Morgan D. (2002). “Rating Banks: Risk and Uncertainty in an opaque Industry”, American Economic Review, 92(4). Rochet J. (2008). “Liquidity Regulation and the Lender of Last Resort”, Financial Stability Review, Banque de France, February. 4  BIS Review 97/2009