Introduction: The Political Economy of the Spanish Crisis

Abstract

This chapter deals with the place of the crisis in the economic analysis, as well as the peculiarities of the economic dynamics of Spain. The crisis as an object of study allows to establish a separation between the different currents of economic theory, so the author points out the fundamental features from a political economy approach: the crisis as a necessity versus the idea of the crisis as a mere failure, or unique phenomenon. With these premises, on the one hand the main features of the Spanish economy in relation to European capitalism are enunciated. In addition, a historical tour has been carried out since the nineteenth century through economic crises in Spain, in order to historically locate the Great Recession of this century. Note, first, that the incorporation of Spain into the Eurozone offers important challenges for any economic theory. And second, this long-term perspective contributes to the methodological debate about the place that the crisis occupies in the economic analysis, that is: between the priority of the conjuncture and/or the triggering factors, or a long-term perspective of the recurrence of crisis that focuses on the fundamental systemic causes.