BY Jason Moore
A decade ago Spain was riding on the crest of the waves. Its economy was booming, it was close to joining the G8, the group of leading industralised nations, and it was starting to play a key role on the world stage. Spanish companies were growing across the globe. A decade on and the Spanish economy is in a very bad state with a record budget deficit and unemployment at the five million mark. Unfortunately for Spain it has no real industrial base and its economy is dependent on tourism and construction. The building industry will take many months to recover and there are some who doubt that it will ever be the same again. Tourism will continue to prosper but Spain is facing some serious competition. The lessons Spain can learn is that you need a diversified economy. The only country which appears to be doing well at the moment is Germany, which has a manufacturing industry which is the envy of the world. To avoid the boom and bust cycle Spain must diversify.