Spain belongs to the group of European peripheral economies where the diffusion of the British Industrial Revolution failed during the 19th century, as Professor Jordi Nadal underlined half a century ago.
This book presents the analysis of leading economic historians on the long-term economic development problems which made Spain a backward economy before industrialization later took hold. The book begins by revisiting the thesis of the failure of the First Industrial Revolution with updated data and methods and analysing the modernization of key manufacturing activities, with contributions from specialists in the history of these industries. By contrast, the next sections of the book explore the Second Industrial Revolution in Spain which appears to have been a remarkable success during the 1914-1973 period. The contributors in this section look to explain the reasons why the experience of industrialization was so different this time around. The book explores the reasons why Spain again lagged behind during the Third Technological Revolution, albeit with mixed experiences in different manufacturing industries. Finally, the last part of the book focuses on the reasons for the Spanish performance during the ICT era and the challenges for 21st century economic development in a country with a very uneven path of industrial growth.
This book will be of great interest to readers in economic history, business history, economics, economic sociology, political science, industrial development, and Spanish history more broadly.
Spain belongs to the group of European peripheral economies where the diffusion of the British Industrial Revolution failed during the 19th century, as Professor Jordi Nadal underlined half a century ago.
1. Stages of Economic Development in Modern Spain Leandro Prados de la
Escosura,
2. Rural mortality in Catalonia and Castile in the 18th and 19th
centuries. What are we able and unable to ascertain? Llorenç Ferrer-Alòs and
Enrique Llopis,
3. Deficit, debt and risk premium: obstacles to the real
convergence of the Spanish towards the European economy (1820-2020) Francisco
Comín,
4. The mining century in Spain (1825-1930). The advance of a mining
frontier in the European industrialization Andrés Sánchez-Picón,
5. The
debate on the rise of cotton fabrics during the First Industrial Revolution
Alex Sánchez,
6. Energy, indispensable but costly María Isabel Bartolomé
Rodríguez,
7. Writing history ahead of time: Professor Jordi Nadal on
railways, the market and the industry Antonio Gómez Mendoza,
8. The debate on
the international competitiveness of the Basque steel industry (1880-1913)
Antonio Escudero,
9. The evolution of the Spanish wine sector since the 18th
century: a very brief summary Josep Colomé-Ferrer, Jordi Planas and Raimon
Soler-Becerro,
10. Technical change and international competitiveness in the
olive oil industry: Spain, 1830s-1930s Ramon Ramon-Muñoz,
11. The growth of
the paper industry in a country allergic to the printed word Miquel
Gutiérrez-Poch,
12. Sardines and tuna: the two lives of the canned fish
industry Xoán Carmona,
13. Industrial success and exporting vocation of
footwear districts in a service economy: The island of Mallorca as a model
Carles Manera and José Antonio García Barrero,
14. The Shipbuilding Industry:
Adaptation and Resilience Jesús M. Valdaliso,
15. Actors and Strategies of
the Spanish Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries Nuria Puig,
16. Defying
comparative advantage: the development of the automobile industry, 1889-2024
Jordi Catalan,
17. The Rise and Fall of the Motorcycle Industry Marc Prat,
18. Energy and Industrial Development in Spain: From the Nuclear Dream to the
Age of Renewables Esther M. Sánchez Sánchez,
19. Industrial policy and the
challenges of the 21st century José Luis García Ruiz,
20. The key to the
global success of Inditex-Zara during the Third Industrial Revolution,
1963-2023 Luis Alonso Álvarez,
21. The growing role of renewable energy in
the electricity sector in Spain Jordi Roca Jusmet,
22. Imbalances in
industrialization patterns across regions and their consequences Albert
Carreras,
23. Spanish industrialization in a nutshell Jordi Catalan and Marc
Prat, Index.
Jordi Catalan is Professor of Economic History at the Universitat de Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) and Director of the Centre dEstudis Jordi Nadal. His main lines of research are industrial history, Francoism, comparative development, economic crises and economic history of Southern Europe.
Marc Prat is Associate Professor of Economic History at the Universitat de Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). His research focuses on industrial history, industrial relations and inequality.
