Spanish Unemployment — a Hiring Function Approach: GARCH-M Model

The high and persistent unemployment in Spain, and to a lesser extent in Europe as a whole, has become the central theme in macroeconomic policy. Reaching a rate of 25 per cent in 1995 and standing at 21.7 per cent in the first quarter of 1997, Spanish unemployment continues to be a highly important topic for many studies. These attempt to explain the main factors behind the phenomenon, as well as the characteristics of the economies of Spain and other European countries that make them different from countries with a more favourable employment climate, such as Japan and the United States.