SPAIN

Social situation in Spain

The harsh current economic situation in Spain – with a dramatic GDP decline and the loss of more than 3 million jobs in the last four years and presently 5,778,100 unemployed people – deepens a number of structural weaknesses in the Spanish economy and its labour market (OECD 2012, EPA, INE 2012) and has had profound social effects. While the unemployment rate itself is already alarming, unemployed people’s purchasing power has been eroded in the last decade (INE 2012). Therefore the number of people receiving unemployment benefits has increased by almost 1.5 million from 2007 to 2011 (SEPE 2012). Forecasts suggest that the situation is likely to worsen in the coming years (Fundación 1º de Mayo 2012). These trends have rendered it difficult for a large number of people to earn any type of income and to access necessary economic and social resources, so new strategies of social reproduction can be expected to develop in the sectors of the population hardest hit by the crisis (lower and middle-class households, youth, women, immigrants). According to existing research, the crisis-related strategies developed by different household types include “adjustment strategies” and “overtaken by the crisis” (Laparra 2010; Cáritas Española 2012). There is some research into the crisis, poverty and resilience, discourses and attitudes (Laparra and Eransus 2010, Cáritas Española 2012, Pedreño and Riquelme 2006, Serrano et al. 2012, Alonso and Fernández 2011).

The Team

  • María Paz Martín Martín
    María Paz Martín Martín
  • Francisco José Tovar
    Francisco José Tovar
  • Carlos de Castro 
    Carlos de Castro 
  • Araceli Serrano 
    Araceli Serrano 
  • María Arnal Sarasa
    María Arnal Sarasa
  • Juan Carlos Revilla Castro
    Juan Carlos Revilla Castro

Previous research results

However, there is little up-to-date qualitative research into the processes behind statistical figures. The Spanish RESCuE case studies put a specific focus on the “working new poor”, which include the “working poor” and the unemployed who have lost their jobs and entered poverty and precariousness. The “disqualifying poverty” (Paugam 2007) exemplified by these groups can affect previously integrated populations and “destabilise” stable workers (Castel 1997). RESCuE will compare the situation of these groups in two areas that differ regarding the availability of formal and informal jobs, access to social services and family and neighbourhood networks and other resources. A town belonging to wider Madrid will serve as the urban case study, with the remote region of La Mancha, characterised by above-average unemployment and poverty (growth) rates, and a diversified labour market with lots of informal employment in sectors like agriculture, the crashing construction business, food industry and tourism, serving as the rural case study. It can be hypothesised that resilient practices in La Mancha include informal labour and small agriculture as well as the use of family and neighbourhood networks.

Situación social

La dura situación económica actual en España, con un intenso deterioro del PIB y la pérdida de más de 3 millones de empleos en los últimos cuatro años y actualmente con 5.778.100 desempleados, está profundizando una serie de debilidades estructurales de la economía española y de su mercado de trabajo (OCDE, 2012; EPA, INE, 2012) y está teniendo intensos efectos sociales negativos. Mientras que la tasa de desempleo está en un nivel alarmante, la capacidad adquisitiva de la población desempleada se ha deteriorado en la última década (INE, 2012). Por ello, el número de personas que reciben subsidios por desempleo se ha incrementado en más de un millón y medio entre 2007 y 2011 (SEPE, 2012). Las previsiones apuntan a que la situación podrá empeorar en los próximos años (Fundación 1º de Mayo, 2012). Estas tendencias hacen difícil para un número importante de personas conseguir ingresos y acceder a recursos económicos y sociales, de forma que es esperable la aparición de nuevas estrategias de reproducción social en los sectores de población más afectados por la crisis (hogares de clase baja, jóvenes, mujeres, inmigrantes). Según la investigación existente, la estrategias ligadas a la crisis desarrolladas por los distintos tipos de hogares incluyen “estrategias de ajuste” y “superados por la crisis” (Laparra 2010; Cáritas Española 2012). Existe alguna investigación sobre la crisis, la pobreza y la resiliencia en España, así como sobre los discursos y actitudes al respecto (Laparra and Eransus 2010, Cáritas Española 2012, Pedreño and Riquelme 2006, Serrano et al. 2012, Alonso and Fernández 2011).

Resultados de estudios previos

Sin embargo, existe poca investigación cualitativa actualizada acerca de los procesos que se encuentran detrás de las cifras estadísticas. Los estudios de caso del equipo español de RESCuE ponen el foco en los “nuevos trabajadores pobres”, lo que incluye a los “trabajadores pobres” y a los desempleados que han perdido sus empleos y han entrado en situación de pobreza y precariedad. La “pobreza descalificante” (Paugam, 2007) ejemplificada en estos grupos puede afectar a poblaciones previamente integradas y desestabilizar a los trabajadores estables hasta el momento (Castel, 1997). RESCuE comparará la situación de estos grupos en dos áreas que difieren en cuanto a la disponibilidad de empleos formales e informales, el acceso a servicios sociales, así como a redes familiares y vecinales u otros recursos. Una del área metropolitana de Madrid servirá como el caso urbano, mientras que la más lejana región de La Mancha será nuestro caso rural, caracterizada por un nivel de desempleo y pobreza superiores a la media, así como un mercado de trabajo diversificado con bastante empleo informal en sectores como la agricultura, la construcción (ahora afectada por la crisis), el turismo y la industria alimentaria. Es posible plantear como hipótesis de trabajo que las prácticas de resiliencia en La Mancha incluirán trabajo informal y pequeños trabajos agrícolas, así como el recurso a redes familiares y vecinales.

María Paz Martín Martín

María Paz Martín Martín is PhD and researcher at the Department of Social Psychology (Complutense University of Madrid). She is member of EGECO (Empleo, Genero y Cohesión social) research team and Complutense Institute of Sociology for the Study of Contemporary Social Transformations (TRANSOC). Her main research areas have been: employment and social policies in cross-national comparative perspective, welfare states reforms and EU social governance. She has also worked on care policies. Recently she has participated on the investigations “Political production of the notion of “care”: institutional practices and implementation experiences in the service to dependency”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Science; “Qualitative evaluation of activation policies, the boundaries between the passive and the active”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science among others. She recently published the articles “Discourses on Modernization in the Employment Public Services: Towards a New Form of Governance?” in Política y Sociedad, Vol. 51, nº 1 (2014, with Carlos Jesús Fernández) and “Questioning the employment system: the European flexicurity approach” in The journal of Industrial Relations and Human Resources. October 2009. Vol,11 Nº5.

Francisco José Tovar

Francisco José Tovar is PhD and lecturer in the Sociology and Social Work Department (University of Valladolid). He is member of EGECO (Empleo, Genero y Cohesión social) research team and Complutense Institute of Sociology for the Study of Contemporary Social Transformations (TRANSOC). Recently he has participated on the investigation “Precarious work amongst students in Europe” (PRECSTUDE), funded by DG Employment (EU). Research interests: identity and critical work and organisation studies. His latest articles : “Collective identities in the age of restructuring: old and new class, space and community – based identities in six european regions” in International Sociology (2013, with Jeffereys, S. and Revilla J.C); and “An alternative view of competence-based management”, in: P. Koistinen, L. Mósesdóttir and A. Serrano (eds.), Emerging Systems of Work and Welfare (Brussels 2009).

Carlos de Castro 

Carlos de Castro Pericacho, PhD in Sociology by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Lecturer in the departament of Sociology of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. His research focus on the study of the political processes in the formation of productive contexts in the global economy and the study of individual and collective processes of subjectivity formation. He has recently coauthored: “Labour, Gender and Political Conflicts in the Global Agri-food System. The case of Agri-export model of Murcia, Spain” in Bonanno, A. and Salete Cavalcanti, J. (eds) Labor Relations in a Globalized Food, Ed. Emerald, 2014; “El péndulo de Polanyi. De la desdemocratización a la resistencia social” Revista Áreas, Vol.31, 2012; and “Two Spanish cities at the crossroads: changing identities in Elda and Alcoy” en Contrepois, S., Kirk, J. and Jefferys, S. (eds) (2012) Changing work and community identities in European Regions: perspectives on the past and present, London, Palgrave MacMillan, 2012.

Araceli Serrano 

Araceli Serrano is PhD and senior lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Sociology in the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). She is specialized in Social Science Methodology, with especial attention to the cualitative Methodology and the Visual analysis in the Social Sciences. She has several publications in books and reviews relating with this scope. She is a member of the EGECO Research Team and the Institute of Sociology for the Study of Contemporary Social Transformations (TRANSOC) depending on the UCM. Her research has focussed on the study of poverty and social exclusion, and on the social policy oriented to fight against these problems, especially on the basic income programs. She has been the coordinator of the research “Perspectives on the poverty: social representations of poverty from the “new poor”, funded by the Community of Madrid; She is also a member of several research projects focusses on the work of care, ways of seeing poverty by social workers, and some approach to mixing methods. She has some publications in books and reviews related with these topics.

María Arnal Sarasa

María Arnal Sarasa is PhD and lecturer in the Department of Sociology (Complutense University of Madrid). She is member of EGECO (Empleo, Genero y Cohesión social) research team and Complutense Institute of Sociology for the Study of Contemporary Social Transformations (TRANSOC). Research areas: employment, poverty and migrant movements. Recently she has participated on the investigation “Precarious work amongst students in Europe” (PRECSTUDE), funded by DG Employment (EU). Also she has participated on the investigation “Perspectives on the poverty: social representations of poverty from the “new poor”, funded by the Community of Madrid. She recently published an article “Crisis, unemployment and poverty: analysis of life trayectories and strategies in the labour market” Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales Vol. 33 nº 2, p.281-311, 2013. Others publications include: Co-author of “A tale of two cities: working class identity, industrial relations and community in declining textile and shoe industries in Spain”. In: International Journal of Heritage Studies, 17, 4, 330-342, 2011.

Juan Carlos Revilla Castro

Juan Carlos Revilla Castro is PhD and senior lecturer in the department of Social Psychology, Facultad CC. Políticas y Sociología (UCM). His main research interests are identity, critical work and organization studies, as well as youth studies and violence. He is part of the EGECO research team and was involved in the FP7 project SPHERE as national co-ordinator. Recently he has participated on the investigation “Precarious work amongst students in Europe” (PRECSTUDE), funded by DG Employment (EU). Publications include: “Two Spanish cities at the crossroads: changing identities in Elda and Alcoy”. In Kirk, J., Jeffreys, S. & Contrepois, S. (eds.): Changing work and community identities in European regions: perspectives on past and present, pp. 91-123. London: Palgrave, 2012; “Las lógicas de control organizacional en el siglo XXI. En busca del trabajador autodisciplinado”. REIS, 135, 47-68, 2011; “A tale of two cities: working class identity, industrial relations and community in declining textile and shoe industries in Spain”. In: International Journal of Heritage Studies, 17, 4, 330-342, 2011.