Unbalanced regional resilience to the economic crisis in Spain: a tale of specialisation and productivity

The recent economic and financial crisis has generated significant and particularly adverse effects in Spain. All the regions were strongly affected, albeit with notable differences. The aim of this article is not to analyse the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the Spanish regions, but to contribute to an understanding of the resilient behaviour displayed by some regions by examining productive specialisation and its effects on regional productivity as explaining factors. The main conclusion is that the most resilient regions are those that had previously specialised in dynamic and productive industries, such as energy, some manufacturing and some advanced market services.