Thread: Spains brain drain?

I have been reading about the 20 somethings in Spain leaving to find/or have found work in UK, France, Italy and Germany. What can a country do when its next generation can find no work in their country ? It is sad they see no future in their own land.

They need to leave the Euro and kick-start the economy ;-)

Whilst the euro remains so strong against the pound and dollar tourists won't spend.

Also exports are very expensive.

OK, I see the wink, but I don't think countries leaving the Euro will solve anything. I remember the difficulty of traveling through Europe and doing business here with 20 different currencies.

But fiscal restraint and building a culture that values hard work can make a difference. I am in Barcelona and working with the city to attract expat entrepreneurs to invigorate the existing tech ecosystem (reverse brain drain). The goal is to create new businesses in Barcelona, which will create jobs in Spain AND bringing new ideas/blood and serve as a guide for Spanish entrepreneurs and Spanish investors. There is not much of a "culture of risk" in Spain, and enticing expats to come in (like the Irish gov't did 20 years ago) may solve a few issues. Not a silver bullet, but better than the status quo.

Check back with me in a few years!

And with regards to the brain drain in Spain(!), do you see educated people leaving Spain or manual labor types?

QUOTE=JazminesII;28390]They need to leave the Euro and kick-start the economy ;-)

Whilst the euro remains so strong against the pound and dollar tourists won't spend.

Also exports are very expensive.[/QUOTE]

@keatsfan yes I posted with a smilie but I truly believe the best thing Spain can do is disentangle themselves from the overvalued single currency ;-)

They need to make holidaying in Spain competitive and attractive for US, UK and similar.

Originally Posted by keatsfan

OK, I see the wink, but I don't think countries leaving the Euro will solve anything. I remember the difficulty of traveling through Europe and doing business here with 20 different currencies.

But fiscal restraint and building a culture that values hard work can make a difference. I am in Barcelona and working with the city to attract expat entrepreneurs to invigorate the existing tech ecosystem (reverse brain drain). The goal is to create new businesses in Barcelona, which will create jobs in Spain AND bringing new ideas/blood and serve as a guide for Spanish entrepreneurs and Spanish investors. There is not much of a "culture of risk" in Spain, and enticing expats to come in (like the Irish gov't did 20 years ago) may solve a few issues. Not a silver bullet, but better than the status quo.

Check back with me in a few years!

And with regards to the brain drain in Spain(!), do you see educated people leaving Spain or manual labor types?

Originally Posted by JazminesII

They need to leave the Euro and kick-start the economy ;-)

Whilst the euro remains so strong against the pound and dollar tourists won't spend.

Also exports are very expensive.

I think Barcelona is already doing very well in building up a start-up economy. It was recently nominated as one of Europe's start-up capitals by Wired magazine Wired magazine.

An article here - EU-startups on how attractive Spain can be for foreign entrepreneurs launching a new internet business (edit: this is actually an article I contributed, although I don't have any ownership of that site). I suppose the main disadvantage is the high initial cost of setting up a company, and the high costs of setting on employees. I rather suspect that the new government (which is looking to be headed by Sr Rajoy) will do its best to reduce those costs.

On the other hand, there seems to be a lot of Spanish companies choosing to expand overseas, and thus export any jobs abroad:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/bu...or-growth.html

Telefónica, the former public telephone monopoly, set off alarms in September when it said that it would create a new digital unit in London for its most promising mobile and online businesses.

The news came shortly after it announced major layoffs in Spain, where unemployment is already higher than 20 percent.

Other companies are taking smaller steps, like using foreign subsidiaries to circumvent punitive borrowing costs at home. At the same time, some multinationals, like the two biggest Spanish banks, Santander and BBVA, are playing down their nationality to reassure international investors as they seek to expand their business outside the country.

The City of Barcelona, along with Barcelona Activa and some other dev orgs are developing initiatives to attract foreign entrepreneurs and create a Silicon Valley atmosphere.

The climate for home grown entrepreneurs is really not so good, as there is little venture or seed capital. And those in Spain who have capital, are not inclined to invest it in risky tech ventures... so a vicious circle.

To the credit of the local gov't they seem to accept that the way to create new jobs is to lure expat entrepreneurs... now they need to go the next step and do what Ireland has done; tax holidays for foreign businesses.

Anyway, complicated set of circumstances, but hopefully things keep moving forward. After yesterday's demonstrations by the "Indignantes" something needs to be done sooner rather than later...

keatsfan

Originally Posted by DBMarcos

I think Barcelona is already doing very well in building up a start-up economy. It was recently nominated as one of Europe's start-up capitals by Wired magazine Wired magazine.

An article here - EU-startups on how attractive Spain can be for foreign entrepreneurs launching a new internet business (edit: this is actually an article I contributed, although I don't have any ownership of that site). I suppose the main disadvantage is the high initial cost of setting up a company, and the high costs of setting on employees. I rather suspect that the new government (which is looking to be headed by Sr Rajoy) will do its best to reduce those costs.