The “Spanish Economic Miracle” is a historical phenomenon of record growth in the Spanish economy , which began in 1959 and continued until 1973 . The world oil crisis of 1973 marked the end of the economic boom in Spain .
Content
History
Background
See also
The 19th century in Spain was marked by political and social instability, which negatively affected economic development, leaving Spain far behind most of the countries of Western Europe . In the late XIX and early XX centuries , Spain achieved relative stability, which led to significant economic growth . In the 1920s, the political instability returned to which the Great Depression (1929-1933) was superimposed, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic , as a result, it ended in a destructive civil war (1936-1939). The war was won by nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco , who established a dictatorship in the country.
Despite the fact that Spain was not a belligerent during World War II , the open support of the Axis powers led to a period of post-war isolation, in particular, a number of countries recalled their ambassadors, many countries, both the Western and the communist bloc , joined the trade embargo . In response, the Franco regime applied autarchy . The economic recovery was very slow. Industrial production returned to the level of 1936 only in 1955 , the agricultural sector was able to restore its level before the Civil War even later, in 1959 . The gradual restoration of diplomatic relations with the United States and its allies in the 1950s , which was associated with the growing strategic importance of Spain in the confrontation between the West and the East, led to an increase in foreign trade and the volume of foreign investment, and therefore to a decrease in the economic difficulties of Spain.
The Beginning of the “Miracle”
The “economic miracle” was initiated by reforms promoted by the so-called “ technocrats ” who, with Franco’s approval, developed and implemented the development policy of the Spanish economy under the leadership of the International Monetary Fund . Technocrats have become for Spain a new class of politicians who replaced the old phalanx guard. The implementation of the strategy developed by technocrats took the form and was a great success: in the 1960s, Spain was the second country in the world in terms of economic growth, slightly behind Japan , becoming the ninth largest economy in the world . Thanks to the successful policy of technocrats, Spain joined the industrialized countries , leaving behind in the past the poverty and backwardness that characterized the country after the loss of most of its empire at the beginning of the 19th century.
However, economic growth, stimulated by the state, had many shortcomings that clearly manifested themselves during the crisis of the 1970s. This not only caused serious environmental damage, but also led to uneven development of the regions, leaving many of them in poverty, but also ultimately caused problems, some of which could not be solved even in the 2000s .
Sustainable Development
Open to the World
In many respects, economic growth was explained by large-scale government investments in infrastructure and in certain important sectors, as well as the opening of Spain as a popular tourist destination. The miracle ended the autarchy period of the 1940s - 1950s and was a response to the economic crisis in Spain caused by the Civil and World War II. As a result of economic growth, there have been noticeable improvements in living standards and middle class development. Although Spain remained economically less developed in relation to the largest countries of Western Europe (with the exception of Portugal , Greece and Ireland ) until its entry into the European Community in 1986, the overall growth continued and after a few years the country reached the same level as the rest of the countries . Spain has become the fifth largest economy in the EU and, in absolute terms, the twelfth in the world. In 1974, the per capita income in Spain was 79% of the average for Western Europe, and in 2004 exceeded 90% of the average per capita income. After the accession to the European Union of the more backward Eastern European countries (for example, Poland , Romania and Bulgaria ), the average per capita income in Spain amounted to 105.7%, thus being higher than the average European level. [one]
Agriculture
The Spanish miracle in many respects was fed by the exodus of the rural population to the cities , which allowed a significant increase in the working class; a very similar phenomenon was recently accompanied by the economic rise of China . The economic boom has led to an excessive and uncontrolled growth of the construction sector on the periphery of the main Spanish cities to accommodate new workers arriving from the countryside.
The main migration flows went from the south of Spain towards the industrial regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country . At the same time, Madrid became a city of services and trade, which also increased the population, demanding large quantities of new housing. This phenomenon has increased employment in the construction sector.
Mass tourism and emigration
The discovery of Spain, which does not have large mineral reserves, for mass tourism attracted a large amount of foreign currency to the country, which was used to pay for the import of machinery, equipment and other things necessary for the rapid development of infrastructure and industry. In addition, the tourism industry is characterized by increased labor intensity, which also ensured the creation of a large number of jobs.
In addition to tourism and growing industry, another factor conducive to development was the emigration of the Spaniards to work in factories and construction sites in countries that achieved great economic prosperity after the Second World War, especially France and Germany. Many of these Spanish workers sent most of their earnings to their families in Spain, which led to increased consumption and investment.
Industrialization
To accelerate industrialization, the Spanish government invested in large companies through the or directly, as is the case with SEAT . Industrial production has grown in old industrial zones, such as in the Basque Country and the northern coast of Ferrol and Vigo ( metallurgy , shipbuilding ), in the vicinity of Barcelona ( automotive , engineering , textiles , petrochemicals ), Madrid has become an important industrial and commercial area. The automotive industry was one of the most powerful locomotives of the Spanish miracle: from 1958 to 1972, car production grew annually by an average of 21.7%. If in 1946 72,000 cars were produced in Spain, then in 1966 it was already 1 million. A symbol of development was the car SEAT 600, a version of the Italian FIAT 600 , manufactured by the Spanish company SEAT. In total, more than 794,000 SEAT 600 were produced between 1957 and 1973, and if at the beginning of this period this model was the first car of many families of the Spanish working class, then in the end it became the first "second" car in many families.
The end of a miracle, growth retardation
The 1973 oil crisis ended this “miraculous” growth, and after that the economy followed an easier upward trajectory. Joining the European Economic Community in 1986 and having completely rebuilt industry, Spain is among the economically and socially industrialized countries, leaving behind the situation of endemic backwardness that was observed until the first half of the 20th century.
The Consequences of a Miracle
The distribution of the effects of the economic miracle of the 1960s was uneven. While some regions, such as Madrid, Catalonia and the Basque Country, were rapidly increasing employment and per capita income, others, such as Extremadura , Castile-La Mancha and, to a lesser extent, Andalusia , were almost not affected by the economic boom.
In places where development and industrialization is taking place, for the first time in Spain, the phenomenon of the middle class has manifested itself: a person with stable work and an income sufficient not only to support his family, but also to buy a house and a car. During the “economic miracle” coinciding with the “golden age of capitalism”, the standard of living of wealthy Spain was close to that of developed Europe. Economic growth, along with the regime’s persistence and ubiquity, has led an important part of this new middle class to consider Franco’s dictatorship a successful social and working model.
On the other hand, the southern regions of the country with a low level of industrialization to a much lesser extent experienced the consequences of the “miracle”, despite the fact that their demography has changed significantly due to the emigration of the population to the more developed regions of Spain and the rest of Europe. These regions, even decades after the “miracle,” continued to remain economically and socially backward, preserving problems such as the inadequacy of basic public services, although in all these places the regime encouraged the construction of social housing. The exceptions were the south of Levant and the province of Malaga , which found a source of income and economic growth in tourism.
The differences between the population densities of different regions of Spain worsened, leaving a small number of very densely populated areas (Mediterranean coast, Basque Country and Madrid) and a large demographic desert within the peninsula (with the exception of the aforementioned capital). These demographic imbalances persist to this day, which is exacerbated by an aging population.
Notes
- ↑ Andreu Missé. El milagro económico español . España se ha convertido en modelo de referencia para los países que se han incorporado a la UE desde 2004 (Spanish) . El Pais (22 de marzo de 2007) . Date of appeal April 15, 2018.