ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about an increasing instability which has reigned over the last few years in the relations between Catalonia and the Spanish state, and the goal of independence that had never before been in the mainstream of the Catalan political stage is currently there. It provides some elements to better understand the present situation, paying particular attention to the economic and financial aspects. The chapter makes some comments about the scenarios ahead. However, before that it might be useful to make some comments about the analytical benchmark of the economics of federalism and the economics of secession. And it is not sure that the economics of federalism could provide us with the appropriate tools to analyse the problems that secession processes rise. However, in the last decades this conclusion has been challenged. It depends on two decisive factors: the degree of decentralization and again the quality of democratic institutions.
