Before the financial crisis, 70% of Spain’s investment flowed into construction. After nearly 15 years, that share has barely recovered to the 50% level. Meanwhile, investment in intellectual property, which was just 8%, has risen by about ten percentage points. This shift marks a significant adjustment in the real estate market since the crisis and signals a broader wave of digitization. The newer role of intangible investments is clear, with software, patents, and training among the key components driving this change.
These observations come from a study by Caixabank Research, which was accessed by El Periódico de Catalunya and analyzes how Spain’s investment patterns are evolving. In absolute terms, investment in construction last year was 41% below the level seen in 2007, while financing for intangible assets rose by 43%, and investment in machinery increased by 20%, indicating a recovery in the industrial sector, according to the report closely reviewed by The Economist and Oriol Carreras. Caixabank Research explains that the larger share of these categories results not only from the steep decline in construction but also from the decisive investment effort that followed. During the crisis years, investments represented 17% of GDP, almost 15 percentage points lower than before the downturn. Since then, investments have gradually climbed and now approach 20% of GDP.
European trend
The same pattern is visible across the major European economies, though the oscillations are less pronounced. For example, investment in Germany accounted for about 23% of GDP in 2000, slipped to 19% just before the financial crisis, and has now rebounded to around 22%. Document analysis confirms that the weight of construction investment in the economy is similar to that of other nations. In fact, with only a few exceptions, the scale of investment in intangibles and capital goods mirrors international trends.
Yet the report notes that ten years ago the composition differed markedly. The share of construction in overall investment stood well above the European average, while financing for intangibles lagged far behind. Spain’s path toward convergence in capital per worker took longer than in many other economies, a gap that European funds are expected to help bridge and accelerate, the authors conclude. This implies that investment in intangible assets and related infrastructure will be a central element for Spain’s future growth strategy, shaping productivity and competitiveness across sectors. The shift signals a broader transition toward a knowledge- and technology-driven economy that policymakers, businesses, and workers alike are navigating together, with ongoing implications for how value is created and sustained throughout the European market.