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Spanish Economic History

Code: 108076
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Economics FB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Carmen Sarasua Garcia
Email :
carmen.sarasua@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Marc Rivas Lopez
Lei Shi

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to follow the course successfully. However it is desirable that students have some knowledge of World Economic History, World Contemporary History, Contemporary History of Spain, Geography of Spain and Economics. 

Objectives

Economic History of Spain is part of the group of basic subjects in the first year for the studies of Economics and Business Administration. The objective of these subjects is for students to acquire the knowledge, analytical tools and basic methodology in order to develop the general and specific competencies of the degree program.

This course studies the development of the Spanish economy, starting in the 19th century but focusing on the 20th century. It appraises the different phases of modern economic growth, the impact of major historical facts in the economy as well as the transformation of economic institutions.

 

Learning outcomes

  • CM20 (Report on the field of historical knowledge by evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.) Report on the field of historical knowledge by evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
  • CM21 (Solve the problems faced by economic agents, when they have to make decisions in conditions of uncertainty, based on different historical experiences.) Solve the problems faced by economic agents, when they have to make decisions in conditions of uncertainty, based on different historical experiences.
  • CM22 (Propose organisational, technological and evolution-monitoring solutions in historical, social, economic and environmental terms.) Propose organisational, technological and evolution-monitoring solutions in historical, social, economic and environmental terms.
  • CM23 (Report comprehensively on the physical, financial and migratory flows of the economy, based on different historical experiences.) Report comprehensively on the physical, financial and migratory flows of the economy, based on different historical experiences.
  • KM18 (Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, identifying how they have been interrelated to date and how they are currently interrelated.) Identify the economic agents that make up an economy, identifying how they have been interrelated to date and how they are currently interrelated.
  • KM19 (Explain economic problems in historical terms.) Explain economic problems in historical terms.
  • KM20 (Indicate theoretical models of the economy taking as a reference the historical events that gave rise to them.) Indicate theoretical models of the economy taking as a reference the historical events that gave rise to them.
  • SM19 (Adapt organisations to national and international economic institutions, taking into account the various historical facts that have shaped them.) Adapt organisations to national and international economic institutions, taking into account the various historical facts that have shaped them.
  • SM20 (Form leadership models based on the different historical experiences of financial, worker and physical flows of the economy.) Form leadership models based on the different historical experiences of financial, worker and physical flows of the economy.
  • SM21 (Model the current economic biodiversity, ecological transition and sustainable development problems, taking into account the evolutionary possibilities of economic systems.) Model the current economic biodiversity, ecological transition and sustainable development problems, taking into account the evolutionary possibilities of economic systems.
  • SM22 (Critically explain the causes that have historically led to periods of economic stability, recession and crisis, on a regional, national and international scale.) Critically explain the causes that have historically led to periods of economic stability, recession and crisis, on a regional, national and international scale.

Contents

INTRODUCTION. The Spanish economy growth in the long run (19th and 20th centuries)


TOPIC 1. RESOURCES, INSTITUTIONS, INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT (1789-1890)



  1. Population, urbanization, human capital

  2. Natural conditions and the limits of agrarian growth

  3. State Reform: economic liberalization and disentailments

  4. Problems of the first industrialization: textile, iron, mining sector.

  5. Domestic and foreign trade. The transport system: railways and cabotage

  6. Banking and Treasury


TOPIC 2. FIRST GLOBALIZATION AND INTERWAR YEARS (1890-1936)



  1.  From the 1898 Colonial crisis to WWI

  2. The impact of WWI on a neutral economy

  3. Structural change and growth in the 1920s

  4. The Depression of the 1930s and the II Republic (1931-1936). The Agrarian reform (1932)


TOPIC 3. THE CIVIL WAR AND THE FIRST DECADE OF FRANCO’S DICTATORSHIP (1936-1951)



  1. The Spanish economy during the civil war (1936-1939)

  2. The political context: organization of the \"New State”, International isolation and autarky.

  3. Market intervention: fall in output, rationing and inflation


TOPIC 4. IMPORT SUBSTITUTION INDUSTRIALIZATION (ISI) (1951-1959)



  1. Cold War, American Aid and the tempering of interventionism.

  2. Import Substitution Industrialization

  3. Growth of GDP and pc income, and structural change

  4. The end of autarky: The 1959 Stabilization Plan


TOPIC 5. ERA OF DEVELOPMENTALISM (1960-1973)



  1. Reintegration into the international economy and consolidation of liberalizing measures

  2. Modernization of agriculture

  3. Accelerated industrialization

  4. The service sector: the specialization in Tourism

  5. The labor market: internal and external migrations and participation rate

  6. The improvement of income per capita and living standards


TOPIC 6. ECONOMIC CRISIS AND POLITICAL TRANSITION (1975-1985)



  1. Impact of the Double Oil Shocks (1973, 1979)

  2. Adjustment policies: the Moncloa Pacts (1977)

  3. Fiscal reform and consolidation of the Welfare State

  4. Industrial and banking crisis, and mass unemployment

  5. Spain, towards the European integration


 TOPIC 7. INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION (1986-1998)



  1. The construction of the European Union

  2. Economic effects of the integration into the EU

  3. Structural reforms

  4. Investment, the engine of growth

  5. Dominance of the tertiary sector


TOPIC 8. A BALANCE OF TWO CENTURIES: PRODUCTIVITY AND WELL-BEING



  1. Growth of productivity, income per capita and well-being

  2. Inequality in regions, households and individuals


 

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Preparation of practical exercises 37.5 1.5
Tutorials 8 0.32
Reading and independent study 49.5 1.98
Practical classes 17 0.68
Lectures 32.5 1.3

The planned methodology of Spanish Economic History is conventional and face-to-face learning and involves five complementary learning activities:

1. Lectures. 

2. Practical classes

3. Individual work by the students (reading and information search)

4. Tutorials

5. Campus virtual (webpage)

6. Use of AI. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed at any stage. Any assignment that includes AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the grade for the activity, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.

Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Midterm exam 1 35% 1.5 0.06 CM20, CM21, CM22, CM23, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM19, SM20, SM21, SM22
Midterm exam 2 40% 2 0.08 CM20, CM21, CM22, CM23, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM19, SM20, SM21, SM22
Four exercises at the classroom 25% of the final mark 2 0.08 CM20, CM21, CM22, CM23, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM19, SM20, SM21, SM22

The evaluation will consist of:

  • Four practical exercises (25% of the course grade), of which only the three best marks will be considered. These practical exercises cannot be rescheduled.
  • The midterm exam (35% of the course grade) has two parts,
  • The first part, worth 40% consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered.
  • The second part worth 60% consists of 4 limited-length questions, each worth a maximum of 2.5 points.
  • The final exam (40% of the course grade) has two parts,
  • The first part, worth 40% consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered.
  • The second part worth 60% consists of 4 limited-length questions, each worth a maximum of 2.5 points.

The questions will focus on the material covered in theory and practical sessions, as well as the content of the teaching materials indicated by the faculty.


The course will be considered passed if the following two requirements are met:

1. The average grade for the course is equal to or higher than 4.9

2. The final exam grade is equal to or higher than 4.

If a student meets the first requirement but not the second, they will receive an average course grade of 4.5 and will be allowed to take the retake exam, in accordance with the provisions set out in the \"Retake Process\" section found below.

If a student meets the second requirement but not the first, or meets neither, they will receive the overall course graderesulting from the direct application of the previously stated weightings and will be allowed to take the retake exam, in accordance with the provisions set out in the \"Retake Process\" section found below.

The questions will be on the topics explained in the theory and practical sessions and on the content of the readings and teaching materials indicated by the group professor.


Synthesis test:

Repeat students who wish to opt for the synthesis test will have to apply by e-mail to the group's professor before October 1st, 2026. The Synthesis test will take place on the day of the final exam set by the faculty. It has two parts,

  • The first part, worth 40% consists of forty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.25 points if the answer is correct, -0.085 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered.
  • The second part worth 60% consists of 8 limited-length questions, each worth a maximum of 1.25 points.

The questions will cover all the theoretical and practical program of the subject


CAUTION:

1. A student is considered UNEVALUABLE if he/she has completed less than 30% of the assessed activities. "The qualification of UNEVALUABLE implies exhausting all the rights inherent to enrolment in the subject".

2. Only midterm and final exams can be reprogrammed, always exceptionally and after obtaining the explicit approval of the Grade Coordinator. All other types of tests performed during the course will NOT be reprogrammed.

3. This subject does not offer the option for comprehensive evaluation.

Calendar of evaluation activities

The dates of the midterm and final exam are scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty.

"The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and a new date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity." Section 1 of Article 264. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB).

Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedule:

e-Formulari per a la reprogramació de proves.


Grade revision process

After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.


Retake Process

"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 2 of Article 261. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations). Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject greater than or equal to 3.5 and less than 5.

The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the faculty. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the subject. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the course.

The retake exam has two parts,

  • The first part, worth 40% consists of twenty multiple-choice questions each worth 0.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.17 if the answer is incorrect and 0 if the question is not answered.
  • The second part worth 60% consists of 4 limited-length questions, each worth a maximum of 2.5 points.


Irregularities in evaluation activities

In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 11 of Article 266. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).

The completion of assessment activities is subject to the provisions set out in this course guide and in the "Policy of the School of Economics and Business on the Detection of Irregularities during Assessment Activities", which regulates the conditions under which assessment tasks are conducted and the procedures applicable in cases where indications of irregularities are detected. Students are encouraged to consult the policy.


Bibliography

The most useful textbook is this general overview: 

Gabriel Tortella (2000), The Development of Modern Spain. An Economic History of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press.

 

You can also use for specific subjects: 

Betrán, C.; Pons, M.A. (Eds) (2020), Historical Turning Points in Spanish Economic Growth and Development, 1808-2008. Palgrave Macmillan.

Carreras, Albert; Tafunell, Xavier (2021) Between Empire and Globalization. An Economic History of Modern Spain. Palgrave Macmillan.

Herranz-Loncán, A. (2007), \"Infrastructure investment and Spanish economic growth, 1850-1935,\" Explorations in Economic History, 44(3), p. 452-468.

Prados de la Escosura L., et al (2017), Spanish Economic Growth, 1850-2015, Palgrave Studies in Economic History (free downloadable)

Prados de la Escosura, L et al. (2012), “Economic Reforms and Growth in Franco’s Spain”, Revista de Historia Económica, 30(1), pp. 45-90.

Ringrose, David (1970), Transportation and Economic Stagnation in Spain, 1750-1850, Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.

Richard Herr, An Historical Essay on Modern Spain, The Library of Iberian resources online.

Software


The basic software used will be Power Point, Excel and Word.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 8 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 8 English second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan second semester afternoon
(PAUL) Classroom practices 51 Catalan second semester afternoon