This article was written by Col·lectiu Wilson, and translated by our collaborator Mr. George Vidal.
Several economists and financial groups say it can:
- Economist Kenneth Rogoff, ex-director of the IMF, maintains that an independent Catalonia would be one of the richest countries in the world.
http://www.catalannewsagency.com/business/item/former-imf-chief-economist-says-catalonia-would-be-one-of-the-richest-countries-in-the-world-if-it-were-independent - Finn Erling Kydland, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Economics, says that he would “not be surprised” if an independent Catalonia inspired more confidence in markets than Spain.
http://www.catalannewsagency.com/business/item/nobel-prize-winner-for-economics-not-surprised-if-catalonia-becomes-independent
- Gary Stanley Becker, 1992 Nobel Laureate in Economics, declared that Catalan independence is economically viable.
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2012/12/breakup-of-countries-no-economic-disaster-becker.html - The digital financial news source “Market Watch” believes that an independent Catalonia would have a GDP of 314 billion USD, which would make it the 34th largest economy of the world, and its GDP per capita would be 35,000 USD, higher than that of South Korea, Israel, and Italy.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/catalonia-is-a-far-bigger-threat-to-europe-than-scotland-was-2014-10-08
- According to the Wall Street Journal, Catalans are suffering from fiscal recentralization and discrimination from Madrid: “Each year since 1986, an average of 9% of Catalonia’s GDP in net terms has left the region to be redistributed or spent by Madrid…Nowhere else in Europe or North America do intra-national transfers of such size occur as a matter of course.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304811304577367321691794512 - According to Eurostat, Catalonia would be the tenth richest country in Europe, after Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, and Finland. https://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-PROD/PROD0000000000350394/Better+off+on+their+own%3F+Economic+aspects+of+regio.pdf
- A report from Credit Suisse says that Catalonia would improve with independence, becoming 20th in a ranking of the human development index (HDI).
- https://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/?fileID=1CC21D53-CD3A-CB77-C15AD96D67EE1210
- Financial Times Alphaville reportes de fiscal inequality toward Catalonia and described Spain as a “transfer union”.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/02/13/2118963/euro-area-divergence-more-about-regions-than-countries/
Americans For Catalonia 