|
Spain CHARACTER AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMY
Economic historians generally agree that during the
nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, at a time
when
Western Europe was engaged in its great economic
transformation,
Spain "missed the train of the industrial revolution."
Much of
the chronic social and political turmoil that took place
in Spain
during this period can in large measure be attributed to
the
great difficulties the country encountered in striving for
economic modernization. Throughout this period, Spanish
social
and economic development lagged far behind the levels
attained by
the industrializing countries of Western Europe. Spain's
economic
"take-off" began belatedly during the 1950s and reached
its
height during the 1960s and the early 1970s. A second
cycle of
economic expansion began in the mid-1980s, and if this one
continues, it might catapult Spain into the company of
Western
Europe's more advanced industrial societies.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Spain was
still
mostly rural; modern industry existed only in the textile
mills
of Catalonia (Spanish, Cataluna; Catalan, Catalunya) and
in the
metallurgical plants of the Basque provinces
(see
fig. 1).
Even
with the stimulus of World War I, only in Catalonia and in
the
two principal Basque provinces, Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa, did
the
value of manufacturing output in 1920 exceed that of
agricultural
production. Agricultural productivity was low compared
with that
of other West European countries because of a number of
deficiencies--backward technology, lack of large
irrigation
projects, inadequate rural credit facilities, and outmoded
landtenure practices. Financial institutions were relatively
undeveloped. The Bank of Spain (Banco de Espana) was still
privately owned, and its public functions were restricted
to
currency issuance and the provision of funds for state
activities. The state largely limited itself to such
traditional
activities as defense and the maintenance of order and
justice.
Road building, education, and a few welfare activities
were the
only public services that had any appreciable impact on
the
economy.
Considerable economic progress was made during World
War I
and in the 1920s, particularly during the regime of Miguel
Primo
de Rivera (1923-30). The Primo de Rivera government
initiated
important public works projects, including construction of
new
highways, irrigation facilities, and modernization of the
railroad system. It also made a start on reforestation
programs.
Industry and mining were growing, and there was an average
annual
increase in the industrial and mining index of 6.4 percent
between 1922 and 1931. An income tax, however
ineffectively
collected, was introduced in 1926, and a number of new
banks were
started with state backing, to invest in projects
considered to
have national interest. Certain economic functions were
turned
over to private monopolistic operations--of which the most
important was the petroleum distribution company, Compania
Arrendataria del Monopolio de Petroleos (CAMPSA); others,
such as
transportation, were put under state control.
These steps toward a modern economic structure were
slowed
drastically by the political turmoil of the period, which
culminated in the Spanish Civil War, and they were further
exacerbated by the worldwide depression of the early
1930s. When
the Civil War broke out in 1936, it eliminated what little
chance
Spain might have had to recover from the economic malaise
of the
period
(see The Spanish Civil War
, ch. 1).
Data as of December 1988
|
