This paper analyses new balance of payment data for Spain in the autarkic period. New evidence suggests that import restrictions where relaxed to a certain extent during die first half of die 1950s thanks to an increase of the entry of foreign currency. This increase was due to the rise of exports of goods and services beginning in 1949. The paper studies several explanatory factors for this increase. In particular the effect of a hypothetical change in commercial policy and the influence of the international context are considered.

What was the impact of American aid to Spain during the 1950s? This article revisits this question, addressing it from a rather different perspective to the focus on the relief of supply bottlenecks that dominates the existing Spanish economic historiography. It suggests that there is a prima facie case for the aid programme to have had a positive effect on private agents' expectations. The American backing, as part of the process of international acceptance of the Franco regime, may have provided a «commitment technology» that solved problems of credibility, which would have otherwise hindered investment and hence the resumption of economic growth. The paper concludes with an agenda for further research.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the sources of growth of real product in the Spanish economy over the period 1964–1973. This is decomposed into five components: capital stock, quality of capital stock, hours worked, quality of hours worked and TFP. The methodology is based on the transcendental logarithmic production function and distinguishes growth in quality and quantity of inputs. We find that the main component of the growth in output is total factor productivity.