Portugal and Spain: a fifteen-year ‘quasi-experiment’ with European integration in a pair of ‘most similar systems’

Article is part of a special issue entitled 'Spain and Portugal in the European Union. The first fifteen years'.
Article abstract:

This concluding analysis outlines and challenges the main findings of the volume. It summarises the main consequences of integration on Portugal and Spain, and argues that the logic of transformation was essentially political. The discussion also explores alternative explanations for political and economic outcomes. Finally, it warns against taking the integration experiences of the Iberian countries as a blueprint of what EU candidate countries should expect as a result of the ongoing enlargement process.