ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the material foundations of the Spanish economy were totally inadequate to withstand the social needs and economic challenges inherent in the reconstruction of Europe. Mass emigration of displaced workers to the growing economies of northern Europe would dampen social tensions in Spain while the counter flows of worker remittances that followed would provide ample supplies of foreign exchange needed for the modernization of plant and equipment. What is special in the Spanish experience is not only the fact that mechanization transformed the methods of production throughout the economy, but the rapid pace of the changes. While pursuing long-range policy objectives to boost internal business profitability through appropriate structural change, various transitional schemes were put in place for purposes of tapping easy sources of external finance for as long as they were available.
