As recently as five years ago, Spain was no one's idea of an economic success story. Southern European countries have long been notorious for lagging behind their neighbors to the north. Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain were referred to by the intentionally unflattering nickname 'PIGS' after they had to be bailed out following the 2008 financial crisis. 'Greece, but also Spain and Portugal have to understand that hard work'meaning ironfisted money-saving'comes before the siesta,' the German tabloid Bild wrote in 2010. And yet, since the coronavirus pandemic, Europe's major economies'including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France'have slumped, while Spain's has boomed. Over the past three years, Spain has accounted for one out of every three jobs created across the European Union. Disposable income has risen three times as fast as in France and eight times as fast as in Germany. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly two decades. In...
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