RT Journal Article T1 Peripheral Europe beyond the Troika: assessing the ‘success’ of structural reforms in driving the Spanish recovery A1 Cárdenas Del Rey, Luis A1 Villanueva Cortés, Paloma A1 Álvarez Peralta, Ignacio A1 Uxó González, Jorge AB Since 2014 the Spanish economy has recovered positive GDP growth, and the country has been growing well above the eurozone average. This recovery has sparked an academic and political debate concerning the role that structural reforms, prescribed by the ‘Troika,’ have played in peripheral Europe. For certain scholars and institutions, these structural reforms have allowed the market, through greater wage flexibility, to make the necessary adjustments to restore economic growth, resulting in a ‘healthy’ economic recovery. But to what extent is this mainstream narrative solidly backed up by the empirical evidence? Can Spain be held up as an international example of the ‘success’ of these reforms? The aim of this paper is to shed light on this debate. We consider that labor market reforms and wage devaluation policy are not the drivers of economic recovery. Instead, we offer an alternative explanation for recovery based on the theory of demand-led growth. PB Edward Elgar Publishing SN 2049-5323 YR 2020 FD 2020 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96478 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96478 LA eng NO Cárdenas, L., Villanueva, P., Álvarez, I., & Uxó, J. (2020). Peripheral Europe beyond the Troika: assessing the ‘success’ of structural reforms in driving the Spanish recovery. Review of Keynesian Economics, 8(4), 560-588. Retrieved Jan 30, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.4337/roke.2020.04.06 DS Docta Complutense RD 5 abr 2025