Reforms to remove the defects in the social security system; to prevent unregistered economic activities; to provide the labor market with a more flexible structure via education; to restructure the taxing system; to continue with the reforms in the financial sector incessantly and to increase efficiency in the agricultural sector should be given priority in our country. On the other hand, considering that growth is a dynamic process, it is very important to strengthen the macro reforms with micro measures and being in a search for a strategic approach in accordance with the changing needs and newly emerging structures. The public and private sector should engage in cooperation in this field. 1  Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, World Economic Forum. 2  Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, World Economic Forum. 3  Indicators of good governance are prevention of corruption, the rule of law, efficiency of the legislation and regulations, quality of the state services, political stability and transparency and accountability. 4  Macedo, J.B. ve Martins, J.O. (2006). “Growth, Reform Indicators and Policy Complementaries”. 6  BIS Review 28/2007  The public sector should assume a supervisory and regulatory role within the scope of the principles of good governance and work towards creating an atmosphere in which the private sector can compete within the international markets under the market conditions and should absolutely prevent the unregistered economic activities.
In the light of the trajectory of recent decades, what can we say about the future of the Spanish economy in the medium and long term? To tackle the future from a useful perspective, I shall follow Epictetus’s recommendation for gaining knowledge of the world. The stoic philosopher divided worldly matters into two: those that depend on us and those that do not. This classification is useful because, when talking about the future of the economy, it is worth focusing on those things that depend on the behaviour of economic agents and all those who intervene in framing economic, regulatory or supervisory policies, without wasting time regretting what we cannot change or influence. Among the things beyond our control is, for example, the external environment, including the European economy which is so important for Spain, since our influence on developments in the rest of the world is very limited. It is also important to realise that the starting position of the Spanish economy with its strengths and weaknesses, which is the basis for predicting its short-term trajectory, is a given and we can do nothing to change it. As indicated at the start of my address, I do not wish today to dedicate my time or yours to analysing the economic situation or predicting the course of the economy in the coming months. Rather, I shall focus on those determinants of the future of the Spanish economy in the medium and long run that really depend on the behaviour of all economic agents.