Continuities and discontinuities in the economic growth of Spain. 1850-1936.

Resumen

The Spanish pattern of economic growth during the last two centuries is quite unique. In the nineteenth century, Spain remained outside the process of industrialization, but during the twentieth century it has joined the small group of developed economies. This article checks the possible existence of discontinuities between 1850-1936 in the series of PNB, industrial production and private and public investment by utilizing recent developments in the econometric analysis associated with the work of Perron and Ziwot and Andrews. The results confirm the continuity of the Spanish growth during the long period considered. However, they also show two breakpoint years: 1870 in the series of industrial production and 1919 in the data of public investment.