0000000000585492
AUTHOR
Elena Martínez-ruiz
Financial crises in historical perspective: Parallels between the past and present
The outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007 has increased the interest in the study of financial history and, mainly, from compared studies on international financial crises. To this end, Investigaciones de Historia Economica-Economic History Research has set out to publish a special issue, welcoming the research on past financial crises into its pages. This issue consists of five papers, summarized in this introduction, that revolve around three large topics: the significance of sources and their use to understand the origin of financial crisis as well as their regulatory consequences; comparisons between major crises, and the study of financial crises’ causes and the measures taken to ri…
1959: The Stabilization Plan and the End of Autarky
This chapter analyses the contribution of the 1959 Plan de Estabilizacion (Stabilization Plan) to the economic changes that occurred in Spain during the 1960s. Economic growth improved in the 1950s after a decade of stagnation, but it was autarkic growth and the country accumulated serious imbalances. By reducing interventionism, initiating a process of liberalization and creating an appropriate economic framework, after two decades of autarky, the Plan contributed to promoting economic growth and helped change attitudes and mentalities. Moreover, the Plan had a long-term impact by allowing Spain to take advantage of a favourable international context during the 1960s. However, the dictator…