The development of modern Spain: an economic history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Book abstract:

This reinterpretation of the history of modern Spain from the Enlightenment to the threshold of the twenty-first century explains the surprising changes that took Spain from a backward and impoverished nation, with decades of stagnation, civil disorder and military rule, to one of the ten most developed economies of the world. The book is the culmination of twenty years' work by the dean of economic history in Spain, Gabriel Tortella, founder of the Revista de Historia Economica and recipient of the Premio Rey Juan Carlos, Spain's highest honor for an academic. It is rigorously analytical and quantitative but eminently accessible. It reveals views and approaches little explored until now, showing how the main stages of Spanish political history have been largely determined by economic developments and by a seldom mentioned factor: human capital formation. It is comparative throughout, and concludes by applying the lessons of Spanish history to the plight of today's developing nations.

The principle aim of the book is to delineate the basic problems of modern Spanish economic history for the general reader while, at the same time, for specialised readers and scholars, using the perspective and tools of economics to contribute to the better understanding of Spain's recent past.

The chapters are: Introduction: an overview; The nineteenth century: politics, population and human capital; Agriculture: persistent underdevelopment; Industry: a long infancy; Transportation and commerce; Money and banking; The role of the state; The entrepreneurial factor; The twentieth century; Demographic modernization; Agricultural transformation: from underdevelopment to backwardness; Industrial takeoff; The foreign sector; The evolution of money and banking; The changing role of the state; Conclusions.

The text has been translated into English by Valerie J. Herr.