But Spanish companies must also set in train strategies enabling them to harness the opportunities of enlargement and to increase their presence in the new areas of the single market, channelling their foreign direct investment efforts in that direction. Financial aspects of the Spanish economy Some of the financial features of recent developments in the Spanish economy are of particular importance. As I have said, monetary and financial conditions remained generous in the Spanish economy and, in step with this, financing received by households and firms grew by around 14% last year. This increase, which far outpaced the average for the euro area countries, led to a fresh increase in the private sector’s debt ratios which, in a few short years, have attained the average levels for the euro area. Significantly, the ongoing resort by companies and, above all, by Spanish households to debt in order to finance higher investment and consumption levels is principally a reflection of the favourable impact on agents’ expectations of the new setting of macroeconomic stability, which provides for higher sustainable growth in income and employment. One of the clearest consequences of the recent trend of financial flows in the Spanish economy has been the contribution made to curbing the scope of the recent cyclical downturn in Spain. That has helped the private sector maintain buoyant expenditure on the basis not only of its current revenue but also of its expectations of future income.
In the long run, the higher levels of both employer and employee National Insurance contributions will result in lower growth of real take home pay - that is simply the price of better public services. Real incomes need not fall but, for a short time simply grow more slowly than otherwise. Indeed, if productivity growth rose, then real wages growth need not fall at all. Profits may bear some of the brunt in the short run, but over the longer term the adjustment will be to wages because firms will need to earn the going rate of return on new investment. It remains to be seen whether the additional National Insurance contributions will lead to attempts by firms to push up prices to recoup the higher employers' contributions and by employees to push up wages to offset their higher contributions. The commitment of the MPC to keeping inflation on track to meet the target, and its track record since 1997, should help to anchor expectations of inflation to 2.5%, thus encouraging the adjustment to occur without a rise in inflation. It is certainly helpful that the increased contribution rates have been announced well in advance so that expectations of real wage rises can adjust. In recent months the rate of increase of average earnings per person has been extremely low, partly because of a fall in average hours worked. For the economy as a whole, average earnings rose by only 0.9% in the year to February - the lowest figure recorded since April 1967.