El papel del gasto público en la crisis de despoblación rural en España 1971-2011

Abstract

Esta tesis estudia la cuestión de la despoblación rural en España, con especial énfasis en el período 1971-2011, analizando los factores que contribuyeron a este fenómeno, en particular el papel del gasto público en la crisis. Comienza con una revisión de la literatura existente, teniendo en cuenta una amplia gama de fuentes nacionales e internacionales, en una variedad de áreas. A continuación, se lleva a cabo un modelo econométrico para evaluar la relación entre el gasto del gobierno y la población, a nivel provincial. El estudio concluye con un análisis y un debate, en el que se relacionan las conclusiones de las dos partes anteriores y se discuten las posibles soluciones a este problema.

The term ‘Espana Vacia’ is not a new expression. It has existed in the media for decades, from songs, books, reports and more. Vicente Bielza wrote about depopulation in Aragon in 1977, Alejandro Córdoba in 1983 about the same in Soria, and Ignacio Prieto, in 1998, described this phenomenon in León (Grijelmo, 2019). More than 20 years ago, Elias Rubio described 64 uninhabited villages in the province of Burgos, a symptom of the ‘Empty Spain’ that was well recognised and accepted as a crisis. However, in 2019, the approach changed slightly – in the form of a name change. Social groups pointed out that Spain was not ‘empty’; it was ‘emptied’. Depopulation had not occurred due to a natural disaster, nor any other uncontrollable event – this was a process that could have been prevented. This gave way for a new name which better reflected the intricacies of the issue – ‘Espana Vaciada’. This thesis studies the issue of rural depopulation in Spain, with specific emphasis on the period 1971-2011, looking at the factors which contributed to this phenomenon, particularly the role of government expenditure in the crisis. It begins with a review of existing literature, taking a wide range of domestic and international sources into account, across a variety of areas. An econometric model is then carried out to assess the relationship between expenditure by the government and population, at a provincial level. The study is concluded with an analysis and discussion, linking the findings from the 2 previous parts and discussing potential solutions to this issue.