ABSTRACT
Many Spanish economists have interpreted the course of economic policy followed by General Franco’s governments as showing two distinct phases. The first corresponds to a period of economic autarky in which the Spanish economy remained practically closed to the world and which extended from the end of the Civil War to 1959 when the seriousness of Spain’s economic problems induced the Franco regime to accept economic reforms. This initial phase of Francoist administration ended with its approval of the National Stabilization Plan of 1959. The second stage was marked by a slow liberalization of economic activity in the country and by a very gradual opening of the Spanish economy. This phase covers the period 1960 to 1975 when the death of General Franco brought to Spain a new political and economic orientation.
