ABSTRACT
In 2006 Spain commemorated twenty years of European Union membership. EU integration was a catalyst for the nal conversion of the Spanish economy into a modern Western-type economy. Indeed, one of the key consequences of its entry into Europe has been that membership has facilitated the modernization of its economy (see Tovias 2002). This is not to say, however, that membership was the only reason for this development. The economic liberalization, trade integration, and modernization of the Spanish economy started in the 1950s and 1960s and Spain became increasingly prosperous over the two decades prior to EU accession.
