The Economy of Catalonia

10
Independence and boycott
Xavier Cuadras Morató and Modest Guinjoan
(Translated by Jana Graham)
Introduction
The independence of a country (Catalonia for example) is a project of
eminently political nature which can only be suitably evaluated by applying
political criteria. Considered in this light, the only thing that really
matters is that the largest possible majority of Catalans should decide
democratically whether it is preferable to build their own political project
or to keep forming part of the political project they currently share
with the Spanish. In our opinion, this should be the central point of the
debate on this issue.
Nevertheless, economists have too often played the main role in discussions
about independence. It seems that the principal area of controversy
between those in favour and those against the secession process hinges, in
our view wrongly, on the economic consequences of the creation of an
independent Catalan State, on the size of the “independence dividend”
which would come from no longer having to transfer funds every year
from the Catalan economy to Spain (the so called fiscal deficit) or the
consequences that a declaration of independence would possibly have on
the economic relations that Catalan businesses maintain with the rest of
the world. These aspects of a hypothetical independence and many others
181