Discussing the social background, the author notes that conversos were seen as economic competitors: "A converso was thus much more unpopular than a practising Jew because he was an interloper in trade and craft, an economic threat; and since he was probably a secret Jew, he was a hypocrite and a hidden subversive too." The work further describes how, after the 1391 attacks, major Jewish communities such as Barcelona and Valencia disappeared and others like Toledo, Seville, and Burgos "were depopulated and lost their importance," implying awareness that removing Jews affected urban economic life.

Summarizing the background to the edict, the thesis explains: "Spanish Catholics believed that the Jews had too much economic influence over the kingdoms, and this resentment, combined with religious anti-Judaism, helped fuel support for the expulsion." It notes that Jews and conversos were heavily involved in royal finance, tax collection, and urban commerce, and that some contemporaries explicitly complained that Christians were economically dependent on Jews. The study also refers to reports from foreign observers who remarked that Spain was depriving itself of a skilled and economically important population by expelling its Jews.

An article accessible via Project MUSE, treating the economic consequences of the 1492 expulsion, notes that contemporaries and later early modern commentators frequently associated the measure with fiscal and commercial losses for the Spanish Crown and gains for rival powers. The author discusses how the influx of Sephardic Jews into the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and parts of Italy was seen by those states as a boon to trade and finance, often citing anecdotes about rulers who explicitly welcomed the refugees as valuable human capital and criticized Spain for self‑inflicted impoverishment. This reflects a strand of early modern commentary that interpreted the expulsion in primarily economic terms.

This reference entry states that the expulsion "resulted in the departure of an estimated 180,000 Jews, devastating a community that had been integral to Spain's economic and cultural fabric for over a millennium." It adds that the policy "deprived Spain of a most industrious, productive, and intellectual population and helped to account for Spain’s decline" and that "The loss of many of Spain’s best and most productive citizens brought about a decline in the economy, commerce, literature, arts, sciences, education, professions, and population." The entry notes that some contemporaries inside and outside Spain criticized the decision on precisely these grounds.

This undergraduate history thesis discusses the economic role of Jews in late medieval Spain, noting that "medieval Spanish Jews emphasized education, which led to better paying professional occupations" and that "Jews held positions in banking and were subject to fewer regulations involving loans." It argues that Spanish Catholics believed Jews had "too much economic influence over the kingdoms," and that resentment over Jewish economic prominence, together with religious prejudice, "led to the expulsion." By emphasizing that Jews were integral to professional and financial sectors, the thesis provides context for why some contemporaries could foresee that removing such a group would carry economic costs for the realm.

In its discussion of the 1492 expulsion, the article notes that the short four‑month deadline was "a great boon to the rest of Spain, as the Jews were forced to liquidate their homes and businesses at absurdly low prices," which allowed Christian buyers to profit in the short term. It then cites a famous remark attributed to the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II: "How can you call Ferdinand of Aragon a wise king," he was fond of asking, "the same Ferdinand who impoverished his own land and enriched ours?" This quotation is often presented as a contemporary or near‑contemporary observation highlighting the economic self‑harm Spain inflicted by expelling its Jews and the corresponding benefit to the Ottoman economy.

This student research article explains that in late medieval Spain Jews played important roles in "trade, finance, and tax-farming" and that, prior to 1492, various laws and policies had already begun to restrict their economic activities. The author notes that these earlier measures grew out of Christian elites’ perception that Jews wielded disproportionate economic influence and the belief that transferring their roles and property to Christians would be beneficial. In discussing the expulsion itself, the article references historians who argue that some contemporaries were conscious that removing such a productive minority risked damaging the economy, but that these concerns were overridden by ideological and religious objectives.

The article explains that on the eve of expulsion, Jews in Spain were "concentrated in towns and cities and were deeply involved in banking, trade, crafts, and medicine." It notes that their departure "caused dislocation in many branches of economic life" and that some contemporaries, especially in lands that received the exiles, understood the policy as economically irrational. The piece cites the oft‑repeated remark ascribed to Sultan Bayezid II, who allegedly mocked Ferdinand for impoverishing Spain while enriching the Ottoman Empire by accepting the expelled Jews.

In its overview of Spanish Jewish history, the entry notes that on the eve of 1492 Jews were 'deeply involved in royal finance, tax farming, and urban commerce.' It adds that some contemporaries, particularly municipal elites, 'voiced concern at losing valuable taxpayers and financial experts' when the expulsion decree was announced. The article, however, stresses that the decision was driven primarily by religious and political motives, despite these economic worries.

Modern historians often point out that the famous line attributed to Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II — that Ferdinand was a foolish ruler for expelling the Jews and thereby impoverishing Spain while enriching the Ottoman Empire — appears in several sixteenth- and seventeenth-century chroniclers rather than in contemporary Ottoman chancery records. Even though the exact wording and authenticity are debated, its widespread repetition in early-modern sources is treated as evidence that at least some observers soon after 1492 conceptualized the expulsion in explicitly economic terms, contrasting Spanish loss with Ottoman gain.