Consequently, joint action is the most effective means of ensuring that the economic effects of the pandemic are overcome within a short period and at a lower cost for each and every country, particularly in a situation like the current one in which, although the crisis is global, its effects on the various economies are asymmetric.7 Admittedly, we do not have the instruments to address the effects of this crisis satisfactorily at European level. Ideally, the EU would have an appropriate institutional framework for addressing the asymmetric effect of economic shocks (for example, by launching a permanent macroeconomic stabilisation capacity for the common budget, a cyclical stabilisation function or panEuropean unemployment insurance). That said, in the absence of these instruments, the European recovery fund is an alternative that may satisfy some of these needs in a reasonably adequate manner. It could also (and would ideally) be the seed for the European institutional framework that we are currently missing. The fund will be financed on the capital markets, with the European Commission borrowing, on behalf of the Union, an amount of up to € billion between 2021 and 2026. According to the preliminary estimates available, the maximum volume of funds that Spain might 6  Appearance before the Parliamentary Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation Committee and Appearance before the Parliamentary Committee for the Economic and Social Reconstruction of Spain after COVID-19 (Congress of Deputies) 7  See Ó. Arce, I. Kataryniuk, P. Marín and J. J. Pérez (2020), Thoughts on the design of a European recovery fund.
For this reason, it is of utmost importance to have an accurate diagnosis of the factors that limit the potential growth of the Spanish economy. In this respect, the diagnoses available tend to be unanimous in emphasising, first, the low productivity growth in comparison with other European countries and, second, the insufficient utilisation of labour. With regard to the lack of productivity growth, it is sometimes argued that the reason lies in our productive structure, insofar as industries in which the growth rate of this variable is more modest have a comparatively high weight. This argument has some merit. However, careful examination of the available evidence shows that relative productivity growth in Spain is lower in most industries. This is something that economic policies need to address  8  See Box 9 of the “Quarterly report on the Spanish economy”, Economic Bulletin 3/2020, Banco de España. 19  if we wish to raise the potential growth of the Spanish economy and, thus, the present and future well-being of our citizens. The cornerstone of any strategy to improve productivity growth, and thereby boost the opportunities of all citizens and the transition towards a more sustainable economy, should focus on two areas in which Spain has a worrying shortfall: human capital and technological capital. As regards human capital, Spain’s relative disadvantage with respect to more dynamic European economies should lead to a rethink of the institutional design of the educational system, including a far-reaching review of the curriculum content and the system of learning itself.