Catalonia and the Economics of Secession

The popular support for the secession movement in Catalonia notwithstanding, a serious question must be asked about the underlying rationale: is it economic utopianism that keeps the movement alive, or could the secession really be an opportunity for the region? The answer to this question is crucial, as the reality of secession may come to resemble both the 2016 Brexit campaign and the 2015 Greek bailout referendum, when populist nationalism left both economies significantly worse-off.