Spain constitutes a distinctive case in post-war Western Europe since it has had one of the fastest growth rates over the last four decades. This was largely due to the acceleration of the 1960s and early 1970s, what could be described as delayed reconstruction and catching-up. Spain's experience over the last 50 years is examined in Discussion Paper No. 1104 by Leandro Prados de la Escosura and Jorge Sanz. After presenting trends in aggregate performance within a comparative convergence framework, the authors explore institutional and macroeconomic features as the ultimate explanations for the growth performance.

Before 1960, autarchy was the rule and Spain's performance appears disappointing from a convergence perspective, since its rate of growth fell short of the potential implied by the country's backwardness. In the period after the first oil shock in 1973, two phases can be distinguished, one of economic retardation and political instability during the years of transition to democracy (1975–85), and the other a brief return to fast growth after Spain became a member of the EC (1986), ending with the sluggish performance of the early 1990s.

Growth and Macroeconomic Performance in Spain, 1939–93
Leandro Prados de la Escosura and Jorge C Sanz

Discussion Paper No. 1104, January 1995 (HR)