ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the most significant facts of the recent evolution of Spanish industry leads us to a balance sheet in which it is difficult to separate light and shade. In terms of productivity, industrial sectors have a noticeably higher average productivity than the remainder of the productive activities. The diagnosis of the evolution of Spanish industry is very much dependent on its sectoral composition. The various possibilities to address this issue, we have chosen the well-known OECD sectoral classification which classifies sectors according to their technological content. The bulk of the effort has been concentrated on fiscal adjustment by reducing expenditures, in many cases affecting social policies. When addressing structural adjustments, policy has placed the focus on the labour market. Two aspects have converged into what we could call a positive industrial policy: energy and innovation. New industrial policy has to foster a massive incorporation of so-called horizontal technologies such as ICT, biotechnology, or new materials.
