Pub Date : 2021-09-16DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0010
Oscar Calvo‐gonzalez
This chapter explores how, behind the change in economic policymaking, lies a change in the ideas of the elite. And behind the change in ideas was a relentless scanning of experience outside Spain, especially in Europe. The chapter documents how the technocrats that held increasing power in 1960s Spain consistently sought out new ideas about policymaking from Europe and the United States. They were deliberate policy entrepreneurs. Like their Western European peers, the technocrats considered a responsibility of the state to seek to advance progress for a wide spectrum of society. To pursue this objective, they considered it critical to increase efficiency and put great faith in technological progress. The chapter concludes that what truly stands out of the technocrats is that they were able to implement their practical agenda over a sustained period. There had been previous technocratic efforts to emulate European practices, sometimes from reformers that reached even higher levels of government. A long-term horizon allowed policies to evolve without unnecessary volatility, striking a balance between policy innovation and policy continuity.
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Pub Date : 2021-09-16DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0005
Oscar Calvo‐gonzalez
For economic growth to accelerate, as it did in Spain in the decade after 1950, requires more than just increased political stability. This chapter documents the drastic turnaround in economic policymaking that took place, from an autarkic and statist orientation to a more open and market-friendly one. It also provides a counterfactual exercise to help us gauge the impact of economic reforms. The analysis makes clear two important conclusions. First and foremost, the growth dividend from improving economic policies in Spain was large. The most impactful reforms were those that implied removing excesses that were causing large distortions, such as the misalignment in the exchange rate. The second conclusion is that this improved performance was the result of a decade-long reform process. The results from the counterfactual exercise suggest that the early reforms undertaken before 1959 played almost as much of a role as the 1959 Plan did in stoking growth. This finding is in contrast with most of the literature which, with few exceptions, has focused perhaps too much on the importance of the 1959 Stabilization Plan. This finding also raises important questions why reforms were undertaken and puts in doubt the existing mainstream view that a desperate economic situation had prompted the adoption of the 1959 Stabilization Plan.
{"title":"More Than Macro Stability","authors":"Oscar Calvo‐gonzalez","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0005","url":null,"abstract":"For economic growth to accelerate, as it did in Spain in the decade after 1950, requires more than just increased political stability. This chapter documents the drastic turnaround in economic policymaking that took place, from an autarkic and statist orientation to a more open and market-friendly one. It also provides a counterfactual exercise to help us gauge the impact of economic reforms. The analysis makes clear two important conclusions. First and foremost, the growth dividend from improving economic policies in Spain was large. The most impactful reforms were those that implied removing excesses that were causing large distortions, such as the misalignment in the exchange rate. The second conclusion is that this improved performance was the result of a decade-long reform process. The results from the counterfactual exercise suggest that the early reforms undertaken before 1959 played almost as much of a role as the 1959 Plan did in stoking growth. This finding is in contrast with most of the literature which, with few exceptions, has focused perhaps too much on the importance of the 1959 Stabilization Plan. This finding also raises important questions why reforms were undertaken and puts in doubt the existing mainstream view that a desperate economic situation had prompted the adoption of the 1959 Stabilization Plan.","PeriodicalId":159182,"journal":{"name":"Unexpected Prosperity","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125180523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-09-16DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0003
Oscar Calvo‐gonzalez
This chapter zeroes in on a series of events that helped Spain achieve a much higher degree of political stability than in previous decades. Having sided with the Axis, the end of World War II posed great danger to the regime of Spain’s dictator, General Franco. Yet as the Cold War intensified, the geostrategic value of Spain increased, helping shift American foreign policy interests. After the Korean War broke out, the US sought and achieved agreements with Spain to set up a series of military bases in its territory. The agreements helped solidify the Franco regime in power. The chapter shows how the achievement of political stability in Spain was unlikely, fast, and externally facilitated. Crucially, it also led to a significant increase in economic confidence among the business community in the country.
{"title":"A Critical Juncture","authors":"Oscar Calvo‐gonzalez","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198853978.003.0003","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter zeroes in on a series of events that helped Spain achieve a much higher degree of political stability than in previous decades. Having sided with the Axis, the end of World War II posed great danger to the regime of Spain’s dictator, General Franco. Yet as the Cold War intensified, the geostrategic value of Spain increased, helping shift American foreign policy interests. After the Korean War broke out, the US sought and achieved agreements with Spain to set up a series of military bases in its territory. The agreements helped solidify the Franco regime in power. The chapter shows how the achievement of political stability in Spain was unlikely, fast, and externally facilitated. Crucially, it also led to a significant increase in economic confidence among the business community in the country.","PeriodicalId":159182,"journal":{"name":"Unexpected Prosperity","volume":"135 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123936281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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