Crisis económicas y cambio institucional en España: de la gran depresión a la crisis de 2008

This paper discusses the economic crises in Spain, from the Great Depression to current recession. Institutional economics offers the theoretical framework for identifying and analyzing the institutions and the rules of the game that have triggered or aggravated the economic crises. This work identifies the institutional changes, caused by economic depressions, which have determined the path dependence of Spanish economy during the last century. In addition, this article analyzes in historical perspective three factors relevant for the institutional environment of the Spanish economy: the Stabilization Plan of 1959, the democratic Spanish transition and Spain joined the European Economic Community. They all have direct effects on policy-making of the country.