Núria Puig Raposo

Bonsais in a Wild Forest? A Historical Interpretation of the Longevity of Large Spanish Family Firms

This study presents the first results of an on-going study of longevity of large Spanish family firms. Its main objective is to provide solid data for a topic in which opinions are more abundant than scientific statistics, as well as to identify the keys to the survival and competitiveness of the almost 250 firms included in the study. It concludes that this reality is not just the result of two decades of integration in Europe or a fortunate endowment with some natural resources, but the outcome of a long learning process and the combination of two factors: specialization in market niches in which the state had no strategic interests and the creation of personal networks of cooperation and influence within and outside Spain.

¿Misión imposible?, La expropiación de las empresas alemanas en España (1945–1975)

This article deals with a key issue in the economic development of the European periphery: the relationship between foreign investment and economic nationalism. The research focuses on the process of blockade, expropriation and reacquisition of German assets in Spain, which took place from 1945 to 1975. The process has been reconstructed by tracking its main characters: the German companies and their local partners, the Spanish groups interested in acquiring them, the Spanish and the German administrations, and the Allied Control Council. Our study reveals that, in the short run, the expropriation programme originated great business opportunities for the traditional partners of the German firms as well as for Spanish industrial banking. In the long run, however, due to private contracts between them and the German headquarters, the process allowed old owners to keep control of their assets and strengthen their position in the Spanish market. KEY Classification-JEL: F23, N44, N84, O12

Los grupos de interés y la regulación pública del mercado de alcoholes en España (1887–1936)

En este trabajo se analiza la actuacion de grupos de interes en el mercado de los alcoholes entre 1887 y 1936. La investigacion pretende responder a la pregunta de si los grupos de presion de este sector agroindustnial tuvieron un papel relevante en la configuracion de la politica economica -proteccionista- que guio, o inhibio, el crecimiento de la economia espanola durante la Restauracion. Para hacerlo se ha reconstruido, a partir de la documentacion de las comisiones parlamentarias y de las publicaciones y escritos de los propios grupos, su interaccion con las instancias politicas y administrativas. Se concluye que 1. Los grupos de presion gozaron de una gran autonomia respecto a los intereses, extraordinariamente heterogeneos, del sector; 2. El Parlamento se mostro incapaz de establecer prioridades entre los intereses en pugna; y 3. El proceso legislativo tendio a vaciar de contenido las principales propuestas de representantes del sector y no llego a definirse una politica alcoholera.

Chemists, engineers and entrepreneurs. The Chemical Institute of Sarrià's impact on Spanish industry (1916-1992)

This paper analyzes the influence the Chemical Institute of Sarria (IQS) ‐a private institution devoted both to the education of chemists and chemical engineers and to applied research‐ has had on Spains chemical industry from 1916 onwards. The research reported is based upon three data sources (articles on industrial chemistry published by the IQS’ journal Afinidad and M. Se. theses; IQS graduates’ industrial activities; and technical services carried out by the Institutes staff for several companies). The main conclusion is that the IQS has had a remarkable impact on Catalan and Spanish industry. Although there are no other similar studies on Spanish scientific and technical institutions, the IQS case confirms that technical education and institutionalized research have a positive impact on the economic and industrial development of “latecomers” like Spain.

Los mitos del crecimiento alemán: la modernización económica y social de Alemania en la historiografía reciente (1975-1991)

En este ensayo se pretende mostrar algunas de las tendencias mas importantes de la historiografia economica y social alemana de los ultimos quince anos. El estudio se centra en el periodo de la industrializacion y se articula en torno a seis tesis que las interpretaciones tradicionales han postulado para explicar la singularidad y el exito de la modernizacion alemana: la velocidad de la industrializacion; la existencia de un «excedente» de mano de obra; el papel decisivo del Zollverein y del ferrocarril; la formacion de un «capitalismo organizado» y la accion positiva de la burguesia y del empresariado. Asimismo, se analizan dos ideas que subyacen a la mayor parte de las investigaciones: la del atraso economico y la del Sonderweg. Se concluye que, si bien los estudios comparados, sectoriales, regionales y econometricos mas recientes estan llevando a revisar todas esas tesis, buena parte de la investigacion historica sigue basandose en ellas.