‘Claves del desarrollo a largo plazo de la economía española’ takes its text from a series of lectures by Professor Francisco Pérez, in which he analyzes the causes and consequences of the economic and social changes that swept Spain in the second half of the twentieth century, and the prospects of material progress held out by these first years of the twenty-first. Unlike other monographs covering the same subject, this publication traces Spain’s economic development from a long-term perspective, in a way that helps us to see how small changes in the course of time can build into major transformations.

This approach also elucidates the many and varied factors that have contributed to the unprecedented wave of prosperity enjoyed by today’s Spaniards. The three lectures making up the series the book is based on explain these developments in the light of three key dimensions in the transformation of our country’s economy: the intense accumulation of different kinds of capital (private, public, human) that facilitated the take-off of the Spanish economy during the closing years of the nineteen fifties; structural change and a shift in specialization along with improvements in production efficiency, coinciding with the advance of European integration and globalization; and regional development, considering both the broadening out of economic growth and the persistence of inequalities between different geographical areas.

This publication brings us closer to understanding some of the unresolved problems of the Spanish economy, such as its scant international competitiveness or the ongoing debate over regional differences. The author’s clear-minded analysis, supported by abundant statistical information and free of technical jargon, highlights some of the risks to be avoided while advocating a series of measures to ensure the continuity of progress.