Revisiting francoist developmentalism: the influence of wages in the Spanish growth model

Abstract

This article studies the growth of the Spanish economy during 1957–1975, known as the period of Francoist developmentalism or the Technocratic Stage of Francoism. We aim to contribute to an explanation of the intense growth in domestic demand and investment that occurred during that time, which remains unstudied despite many analyses of the “Spanish economic miracle”. Following Bhaduri & Marglin's models, our main thesis holds that an increase in the wage share, resulting from the greater bargaining power of workers, had a positive effect on growth, productivity, and investment; we suggest the existence of a wage-led model, including feedback effects that such a model of growth entails. This hypothesis is tested, and confirmed, using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model.