Motives for Independence: The Case of Spain’s Catalonia

After decades of struggling for autonomy, Catalonia, Spain has initiated a renewed independence movement. This paper seeks to answer the question: what economic motives are driving the possibility of Catalan secession from Spain, and how have these motives affected Catalonia’s economy and ways of life? I will focus on the politically and economically significant timeline of 2008-2019, analyzing indicators of economic health such as Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Direct Investment Rates, Unemployment, and the actions of Ibex-35 Businesses within Catalonia. Further, I will use public opinion polls on independence and national identity to gauge support for independence within the region, examining whether support for independence and Catalan identity vary during this time. I argue that when economic motives to support Catalan independence began to dwindle, political cries for independence became muted as a response to fears of secession creating an economic crisis