Gipuzkoa leads the list of territories in the State with the highest economic complexity, translating into highly specialized production and a wide variety of activities that result in greater productivity, a higher growth rate, and elevated levels of well-being. This leadership is reinforced by the update of the Economic Complexity Map of Spain, developed by the Fundación Cotec for innovation.
The data presented in Madrid shows the Gipuzkoan territory with a strong specialization in activities linked to transport and metals, featuring advanced exports related to mechanical engineering such as railway transport, fishing boats, drilling machines, or metal finishing machinery.
A strong position on this list, as explained by the Fundación Cotec, signifies higher income per inhabitant and guarantees greater development of the territorial economy. Following Gipuzkoa, the next territories are also Basque: Álava and Bizkaia, in that order, demonstrating the advanced degree of complexity of the entire Basque Country (CAV).
"Regions with greater productive capacities and accumulated knowledge tend to diversify towards more advanced and higher value-added activities," stated Ignacio Gordo, head of Economic Analysis and Projects at Cotec's Economics Department. If these activities are not replicated in many places worldwide, they increase competitiveness and contribute greater wealth to the territory.
The presentation of this update was accompanied by an innovation developed with the Basque Institute of Competitiveness Orkestra. Susana Franco, its research director, and Asier Murciego, responsible for IT & Big Data, participated to explain the initiative. While the Economic Complexity Index could not previously be established below the provincial level, Orkestra's solution allows for greater detail, calculating it by municipality.
"This tool provides information for designing economic policies"
Franco and Murciego noted that Cotec previously used export data for calculations, making it impossible to know the external sales for each municipality. However, Orkestra proposed using Social Security affiliation data to measure "to what extent the economic activities present in each locality require advanced capabilities and knowledge," explained Murciego. Furthermore, this metric extends beyond industrial activity to encompass other sectors, "making the weight of services visible."
In total, profiles have been created for nearly 4,000 municipalities across the State, among which the strong position of several Basque municipalities stands out, specifically Bilbao, Donostia, and Getxo, aligning with the high degree of specialization presented by the entire Basque Country (CAV) according to the Fundación Cotec.
The new tool is Orkestra's response to the detected interest in obtaining the most disaggregated information possible on these indicators. Precisely knowing a municipality's predominant activities, its degree of specialization, or its competitiveness provides valuable data for its local government to develop policies that foster the town's economic development.
Development agencies also benefit, as Susana Franco and Asier Murciego indicated to this newspaper, gaining a closer view of a region's economic reality and enabling them to design initiatives that complement the strengths of each locality within their scope. On a larger scale, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa can also utilize this tool for policy design, identifying aspects to focus on to boost the competitiveness of the entire territory.
Susana Franco highlighted its uses, including identifying activities with high productive specialization within a locality's economic reality, the enhancement of which will contribute to greater economic development. It also aids in selecting the most suitable municipality or region for manufacturing a specific good based on its strengths.
Similarly, this indicator can be of great help to institutions in analyzing which new high value-added activities could be implemented in each municipality based on its current capabilities, added the research director of Orkestra.
"A European perspective will be incorporated in a future update"
This new Local Economic Complexity Index identifies Donostia, ranked ninth nationally, as a city highly specialized in advanced services, particularly in research and development activities, "but also in cultural activities," reported Cotec and Orkestra.
Bilbao ranks sixth, thanks to its specialization in financial services, advertising, and insurance, complemented by activities related to maritime transport and the film, video, and television program sectors.
Among the top 20 localities, Getxo is also listed at 15th place "for activities related to maritime transport, technical architectural services, or sports, recreational, and entertainment activities, among others," indicated the Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
Asier Murciego explained that the work developed by Orkestra to complete Cotec's Economic Complexity Map will be updated next year. The researcher added that the objective is to "perfect the methodology" to replace the current Spanish perspective with a broader one that considers the European reality.
