Spain is the only euro economy that sees its growth forecasts for this year improve, according to the OECD’s calculations, which on Wednesday prepared its global outlook report. Specifically, the organization has raised its GDP growth forecast for this year by one tenth compared to March, to 2.2%, the same figure handled by the Government. It is almost triple the eurozone average (0.8%) and well above Germany (0.7%), France (0.7%), and Italy (0.5%). “It is balanced growth. The OECD attributes the dynamism to domestic demand, with private consumption supported by strong employment and investment driven by European funds,” the Government values.

Today Spain plays its final to win the Football World Cup. Beyond technical criteria, for years there have been several studies attempting to establish some correlation between sport and the economy. In their famous 2004 research on the Olympic Games, Who wins the Olympic Games, economists Andrew B. Bernard and Meghan R. Busse demonstrated that a nation’s total GDP — which combines the size of its population with its per capita wealth — is the best predictor of sporting success. The thesis is that money buys infrastructure, technology, and coaches, while the population provides the critical mass necessary for natural sporting talent to emerge. What do the data from this World Cup say?