Economy of Madrid
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After it became the capital of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in the 16th century,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
was more a centre of
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
than of production or trade. Economic activity was largely devoted to supplying the city's own rapidly growing population, including the royal household and national government, such trades as
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
ing and publishing. A large industrial sector did not develop until the 20th century, but thereafter industry greatly expanded and diversified, making Madrid the second industrial city in Spain. However, the economy of the city is now becoming more and more dominated by the service sector.


Economic history


16th to 18th centuries


Seat of government

After
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
made Madrid the capital city of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in 1561, the city experienced rapid growth. As Spain (like many other European countries) continued to centralize royal authority, particularly under the Bourbon monarchs, Madrid took on greater importance as a center of administration for Spain. It was sometimes described as an "economic parasite", sucking in the resources of the empire without directly generating wealth.


Manufacturing

During this period Madrid became an important nucleus of
artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
al activity. Some proto-
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
institutions were established, including the "Five Great Guilds" (''Cinco Gremios Mayores'') or the ''Banco de San Carlos'', as well as producers to the royal household such as the ''Porcelana del Buen Retiro'' (porcelain) and the ''Fábrica de Tabacos'' (tobacco). The supply of goods to the city was a major concern of the national and municipal governments, and was accomplished through a complex network of agents and public and private institutions, functioning along
mercantilist Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce ...
lines and centred upon the Plaza Mayor and a number of other marketplaces. During the transition to capitalism, Madrid, unlike other cities such as London and Paris, did not become a great centre of trade. It was not a suitable location for trade at that time, due to its geographical position, far from the sea or navigable rivers. Thus Madrid remained largely a political and social centre, and served as a market for luxury goods and the agricultural produce of Castile – mainly grain.


19th century

As the nineteenth century progressed Madrid became more integrated into national trade networks. This was associated with the development of
railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
and the political and economic changes of the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
era, including expropriations of property from religious institutions. Unlike many of the other cities in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, Madrid did not become a leading center of industry during the nineteenth century. Construction remained one of the principal forms of economic activity: when the first rail link was built, to
Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
, it was mainly used for bringing in timber for construction, as there was little industrial plant needing a supply of other materials.Juliá, S. et al. (1995), ''Madrid, Historia de una capital'' One indicator of Madrid's industrial weakness was how little the workers’ movement developed there, its center of gravity remaining in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The founding of the
PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
socialist party and the UGT trade union in Madrid were led by Pablo Iglesias, a printing worker: publishing was another of the long-standing forms of enterprise in the capital.


20th century

The major expansion of the city's industry occurred during the 20th century, mostly in the period following the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
, reaching levels of industrialization found in other major European cities. The economic output of the city shifted to chemicals, metallurgy, and high-technology production including precision engineering, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. Many national and multinational companies set up headquarters in the city, encouraged by its function as the center of government. At the same time, workers’ commissions (''
Comisiones Obreras The Workers' Commissions ( es, Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de ...
''), although illegal under the legislation of the
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
period, were set up in the factories that now surrounded the city. Since the restoration of democracy in the late 1970s, despite efforts to decentralize the administration, the city has continued to expand. Its economy is now among the most dynamic and diverse in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
.


Present-day economy

As the national capital, Madrid concentrates activities directly connected with power (central and regional government, headquarters of Spanish companies, regional HQ of multinationals,
financial institutions Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...
) and with knowledge and technological innovation (research centres and universities). It is one of Europe's largest financial centres and the largest in Spain.''Estructura Economica de le Ciudad de Madrid''
''Ayuntamiento de Madrid'' (Madrid City Council), August 2013
In 2008, 72% of Spain's largest 2,000 companies had their headquarters in Madrid. The city has 17 universities and over 30 research centres. Although the service sector predominates in its economy, Madrid continues to hold the position of Spain's second industrial centre after Barcelona, specialising particularly in high-technology production. Its location at the centre of the peninsula permits it to articulate the long-distance transport networks of the peninsula. The comparative advantages of Madrid have been decisive in capturing the larger part of foreign investment coming into Spain in recent years. It is the third metropolis in the EU by population, and the fourth by gross internal product. Leading employers include
Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...
,
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
,
Prosegur Prosegur Compañía de Seguridad, S.A ("Prosegur") is a multinational security company, headquartered in Madrid, Spain. History Prosegur was founded in 1976 by Herberto Gut. It began as a private security company, with a particular focus on ...
,
BBVA Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present ...
, Urbaser,
Dragados ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. () is a Spanish company dedicated to civil and engineering construction, all types services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects i ...
, and
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
.


Aggregated economic activity

The city of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
had a
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
124,780M in 2011. GDP per capita in 2011 was 74% above the national GDP per capita average and 70% above that of the 27
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
member states. In comparison to the remainder of the Madrid region, the city is also substantially richer: although housing just over 50% of the
Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munic ...
's population, it generates 65.9% of its GDP. The rapid growth - throughout the 1990s particularly - which converted Madrid into one of the most prosperous European cities was maintained for a large part of the decade of the 2000s, the growth rate being 3.4% pa 2000-2009. Following the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
commencing 2007/8, recovery was under way by 2014, with forecast growth rates for the city of 1.4% in 2014, 2.7% in 2015 and 2.8% in 2016. In 2009, Madrid's per capita GDP lay 11% behind the average of the top 10 cities of the EU (it had been 14% behind in 2000). This is explained by lower rates of employment and, to a lesser extent, by lower labour productivity, but Madrid is catching up on both these factors, with productivity growing 2.5% pa in real terms. The region of Madrid runs a heavily negative balance of foreign trade in every major class of goods: in 2013/14 exports totalled €28.97M, and imports €47.29M.


Standard of living


Income and expenditure

The mean income per "unit of consumption" (a weighted count of persons) in 2010 was €17,800, which was 12% above the figure for Spain. Similarly, the mean annual spending per ''household'' in the same year was €35,683, again 12% above the Spanish average. One downside of Madrid's rapid economic development since 1992 has been the rising
cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...
. Although residential property prices have fallen by 39% since 2007, the average price of dwelling space was €2,375.6 per sq. m. in early 2014, and was second only to London in a list of 22 European cities.


Income distribution

The proportion classified as "at risk of poverty" in 2010 was 15.6%, up from 13.0% in 2006 but less than the average for Spain of 21.8%. The proportion classified as affluent was 43.3%, up from 38.2% in 2006 and much higher than Spain overall (28.6%). The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, was slightly less in the Madrid region (32.3) than the rest of Spain (34.0).


Impact of recession

Consumption by Madrid residents has been affected by job losses and by austerity measures, including a rise in sales tax from 8% to 21% in 2012. The impact of the economic recession on spending patterns of Madrid households could be seen in a household survey in 2009: 74% said they were building up their savings, 54% were taking more advantage of sales, 47% were spending less on clothes, 44% on eating out and 42% on going to shows.


Composition of the economy by sector

The economy of Madrid has become based increasingly on the service sector. In 2011 services accounted for 85.9% of value added, while
industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
contributed 7.9% and
construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
6.1%. Services to business, transport & communications, property & financial together account for 52% of total value added. Following the recession, services and industry were forecast to return to growth in 2014, and construction in 2015.


Services

The historic dominance of the service sector in the capital is reflected in current trends, with the share of services in the city's economy growing from 82% in 2000 to 86% in 2011. The types of services that are now expanding are mainly those that facilitate movement of capital, information, goods and persons, and "advanced business services" such as research and development (R&D),
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...
, and technical
accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...
.


= Finance and banking

=
Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
s based in Madrid, both clearing banks and savings banks, carry out 72% of the banking activity in Spain. After many recent amalgamations the largest banking groups with an important presence in Madrid are BSCH (Banco de Santander y Central Hispano) and
BBVA Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present ...
(Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria). The Spanish
central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central b ...
, Bank of Spain, has existed in Madrid since 1782. Stocks & shares,
bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
markets,
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
, and pension funds are other important forms of financial institution operating in the city.


= Transport

= The construction of transport infrastructure, such as the ring roads and train network, constituted a major pillar of the economy up to 2006. Road, rail and air links are vital to maintain the economic position of Madrid as a leading centre of employment, enterprise and tourism. Three quarters of a million people commute into the city to work. The road network within the metropolitan region includes nine radial ''
autovía An ''autovía'' is one of two classes of major highway in the Spanish road system similar to a British motorway or an American freeway. It is akin to the autopista, the other major highway class, but has fewer features and is never a toll roa ...
s'' (fast dualled highways) and four orbital ones at different distances from the centre. Some of the more recently built radial roads where tolls are charged have not been used to capacity. The region now possesses a high-capacity metropolitan road network. However, in some of the outer areas the new orbital roads have favoured the dispersion and fragmentation of residential and economically active areas. Madrid also has a high standard of
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
provision, consisting of the
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
, the ''
cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
'' local railways, and a dense network of bus routes, with many intermodal interchanges. Almost half of all journeys in the metropolitan area are made on public transport, a very high proportion compared with most European cities. In terms of longer-distance transport, the construction of ''autovías'' in the 1980s and 1990s has given Madrid direct fast road links with most parts of Spain and with France and Portugal. Madrid is also the central node of the high-speed rail network (
AVE ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
), now connecting the city with 17 provincial capitals and with more under construction. High-speed rail has brought major cities such as Seville and Barcelona within 2.5 hours travel and has taken a large proportion of journeys that were formerly made by road or air. The economic importance of these developments lies not only in facilitating business trips but in increasing the city's access to human capital, strengthening the competitiveness of Madrid-based business. Madrid-Barajas Airport, the fourth largest airport in Europe, is an important component of the city's economy, as a major transport hub, an arrival point for the large tourist trade, and a large employer. Barajas handles over 40M passengers annually, of whom 70% are international travellers, in addition to the majority of Spain's
air freight Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use the ...
movements. Finally, Madrid's location at the centre of the peninsula makes it a natural
logistical Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
base and a focus of international trade. Over half by value of the national transport of goods and logistical operations passes through the Madrid region. This type of activity is gradually moving outwards from the city itself.


= Trade fairs, exhibitions, conferences

= Madrid is an important centre for
trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
s, business exhibitions and conferences, although the scale of this activity decreased between 2005 and 2011: while there were more fairs (82) in the latter year, they attracted fewer exhibitors (32,800, down 18%) and fewer visitors (739,000, down 27%). Many of the trade fairs are coordinated by
IFEMA Ifema (short for ''Institución Ferial de Madrid; "''Fair Institution of Madrid") is an entity charged with the organisation of fairs, halls and congresses in their facilities in Madrid. It is a consortium partnered by the Ayuntamiento de Madrid ( ...
, the Trade Fair Institution of Madrid. There are six conference and exhibition centres, and 64 hotels with conference & exhibition facilities.


=Public sector

= In 2012 there were 243,000 employees in the
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...
, or 18.1% of all employees. This proportion had remained approximately stable since 2005. Of these employees 48% were working in administration and security, 22% in health, sanitary and social services, and 16% in education.


=Tourism

= Madrid attracts many
tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
from other parts of Spain and from all over the world. There were 7.5 million visitors who stayed one or more nights in Madrid in 2013, 49% of whom were from outside Spain. As a tourist destination Madrid exceeds Barcelona as the most popular in Spain. Madrid is attractive to visitors for art and culture, architecture, gastronomy, shopping, shows, parks, sport and for its proximity to the
Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...
. There are over 900 hotels and hostels (24 of which are 5-star hotels) with accommodation for over 80,000 visitors. In 2012, 54% of foreign visitors were from Europe (especially Italy, UK and France), 12% were from the US, 20% from other parts of the Americas, and 14% from elsewhere. Spending by tourists in Madrid was estimated (2011) at €9,546.5M, or 7.7% of the city's GDP. Although visitor numbers were reported down by 10% in summer 2013, possibly due to high airport fees and fewer long-haul visitors after a merger between the airlines Iberia and British Airways, numbers had recovered by 12% year-on-year in the early months of 2014.''Barómetro de Economía de la Ciudad de Madrid'', No. 41
, ''Ayuntamiento de Madrid'' (Madrid City Council), October 2014
"Madrid Precious Time" is a new collaborative body aiming at attracting more tourists to the city.


Industry

Industry still forms a significant sector, contributing 7.5% to Madrid's value-added in 2010. However, industry has slowly declined within the city boundaries as more industry has moved outward to the periphery, especially the south/south-eastern arc. The city now contains 37% (by value) of all industry in the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
. Industrial Gross Value Added grew by 4.3% in the period 2003-2005, but decreased by 10% during 2008-2010. The total GDP by industry in 2010 was €8,497M. The leading industries were: paper, printing & publishing, 28.8%; energy & mining, 19.7%; vehicles & transport equipment, 12.9%; electrical and electronic, 10.3%; foodstuffs, 9.6%; clothing, footwear & textiles, 8.3%; chemical, 7.9%; industrial machinery, 7.3%. Madrid retains its advantages in infrastructure, as a transport hub, and as the location of headquarters of many companies. Industries based on advanced technology are acquiring much more importance here than in the rest of Spain.


Construction

The construction sector, contributing 6.5% to the city's economy in 2010, was a growing sector before the recession, aided by a large transport and infrastructure program. More recently the construction sector has fallen away and earned 8% less in 2009 than it had been in 2000. The decrease was particularly marked in the residential sector, where prices dropped by 25%-27% from 2007 to 2012/13 and the number of sales fell by 57%.


Employment

Participation in the labour force was 1,638,200 in 2011, or 79.0%: females 74.5%, males 83.9%. More women moved into the labour force between 2007 and 2011, their participation rate increasing by 4.2%, while that of men increased by only 0.4%. The employed workforce comprised 49% women in 2011 (Spain, 45%). During the period 2007-11, the unemployment rate increased from 6.0% to 15.8% (similar in both sexes), remaining lower than in Spain as a whole (8.3% to 21.8%). Among those aged 16–24, the unemployment rate increased from 16.5% to 39.6% (Spain, 18.2% to 46.4%). Unemployment reached a peak of 19.1% in 2013, but with the start of an economic recovery in 2014, employment started to increase and more jobs were created in the city than in any other region of Spain. 47% of registered unemployed people receive unemployment benefit. Employment continues to shift further towards the service sector, with 86% of all jobs in this sector by 2011, against 74% in all of Spain: during the preceding four years employment in Madrid decreased by 25% in industry and by 42% in construction, while in all services combined employment decreased by less than 6%, with increases of 11% in the transport & communication sector, and also 11% in public administration, education & health. Among the economically active of Madrid in 2011, 41% were university graduates, against 24% for Spain as a whole. The unemployment rate among graduates was 8.9%, up from 3.8% in 2007 but much less than the 21.0% for those with only school education.


International rankings

A recent study placed Madrid 7th among 36 cities as an attractive base for business. It was placed third in terms of availability of office space, and fifth for each of access to markets, availability of qualified staff, mobility within the city, and quality of life. Its less favourable characteristics were seen as pollution, languages spoken, and political environment. Another ranking of European cities placed Madrid 5th among 25 cities (behind Berlin, London, Paris and Frankfurt), being rated favourably on economic factors and the labour market, and on transport and communication.Ramos, A. (2013): ''Ranking de ciudades europeas 2012'', ''Barómetro de Economía de la Ciudad de Madrid''. No. 35 Regarding tourism attraction, an international survey held by Mytraffic, Madrid's main commerce street "Gran Via" has been ranked 4th due to a 44% increase in pedestrian footfall. From the study we can highlight that the Gran Vía in Madrid is only surpassed by the Champs-Élysées Avenue in Paris with 102%, Leidsestraat in Amsterdam with 55%, and Via Corso in Rome with 49%.


References


Further reading

* Ringrose, David (1985) ''Madrid y la economía española, 1560-1850'', Madrid, Alianza * Juliá, Santos, Ringrose, David & Segura, Cristina (1995) ''Madrid, Historia de una capital'', Madrid, Alianza, * Equipo Madrid ''Carlos III, Madrid y la Ilustración'', Madrid, Siglo XXI, * Castro, Concepción de (1987) ''El pan de Madrid'', Madrid, Alianza * Carbajo Isla, María F. ''La población de la villa de Madrid desde finales del siglo XVI hasta mediados del siglo XIX'', Madrid, Siglo XXI, * VV.AA. ''Primeras Jornadas sobre Fuentes Documentales para la Historia de Madrid'', Madrid, Consejería de Cultura de la Comunidad de Madrid, {{ISBN, 84-451-0173-0 * José Luis García Delgado & Miguel Carrera Troyano, ''El crecimiento económico de Madrid en el marco de la industrialización española'', in ''Estructura Económica de Madrid'', Comunidad de Madrid-Civitas, 1999 * José Luis García Delgado, ''Factores determinantes de la formación de la estructura económica de Madrid'', in ''Estructura Económica de Madrid'', Comunidad de Madrid, Civitas, 1999 * José Antonio Nieto Sánchez, ''Artesanos y mercaderes. Una historia social y económica de Madrid (1450-1850)'', Fundamentos, Madrid, 2006