Even though he average salary in Spain It stands at 28,049.9 euros in 2023, according to the latest INE report, the most common is 15,574.9 euros annually, which reflects that the majority of Spaniards earn a low salary. This fact, according to economist Javier Díaz-Giménez, is a direct consequence of the low productivity and low opportunity cost of a good part of the workers.
in the program laSexta Xplica The expert clarifies that the salary level is conditioned by the employee’s productivity. “The maximum salary they can pay you is the value of your productivity. No one can pay you even one euro more. It doesn’t matter if you put the salary at 1,200 or 3,000. No one is going to hire you and pay you above your productivity. And the minimum salary they can pay you is your opportunity cost,” the economist explained.
To explain this concept, Díaz-Giménez resorted to a very graphic example: “You cannot pay a footballer less than a million because he goes to another club that does pay him that million. Anyone who wants to hire a sports star has to pay him that amount, because that is his opportunity cost.”
Productivity and opportunity cost, keys to salary
The expert insisted that low salaries in Spain have two main causes, low productivity and the low opportunity cost of workers. This means that few can access high salaries because no company will pay more than what an employee produces.
In this sense, in the debate it was also stated that the current economic situation together with these low salaries mean that many families have difficulty making ends meet, to which the economist gave his response.
For Díaz-Giménez, making ends meet not only depends on salary, but also on the cost of living. “There are many months that are more expensive than your productivity allows.”
Despite this, he highlighted the value of the Spanish social protection system, which he described as an essential pillar for the well-being of families. “All social insurance helps us make ends meet and protects us from many risks. Our lives, with those low salaries and expensive months, are still magnificent lives,” he said.