Spain, the field of Europe? Changes in crop production during the second half of the twentieth century

Researcher: 
Cazcarro Castellano, Ignacio
Congress: 
Conferencia Internacional de Ciencia Regional y las V Jornadas Valencianas de Estudios Regionales
Participation type: 
Comunicación oral
Other authors: 
Ignacio Cazcarro; Miguel Martín-Retortillo; Ana Serrano
Year: 
2018
Location: 
Valencia

The agricultural production in Spain increased strongly during the 2nd half of the XXth century and the beginning of the XXIst. This growth was higher than the main European countries. This period involved a massive use of technical inputs, the great expansion of the irrigation and the entry of Spain into the European Economic Community in 1986 in the context of the second globalization. All this context generates deep changes in crop production in Spain in terms of products and regions. To observe these changes, we use a methodology, which relies on index decomposition analyses. Furthermore, we evaluate changes in the value and volume of crop production, as well as the role of product composition and the regional distribution of production.
At the national level, crop production almost tripled during the period analysed. However, from 1980 the rise in the value of some key products as vegetables and fodder crops also pushed up this magnitude. Despite the importance of this scale effect, the crop compositional change experienced by the Spanish agricultural sector was also relevant. In this regard, wine was the product with the most significant growth, followed by vegetables, fruits and oils. On the contrary, cereals lost their initial leading importance. Looking at the different regions, the crop production also experienced a significant geographical reallocation, concentrating in south and east of Spain.