Demografía y producción en España y Euskalerria (Siglos XVIII-XX)

The article is divided into two parts. The first analyses the performance of the regional structure of the Spanish economy from the beginning of the XIVth century to the present day. Next, the particular case of the Spanish Basque Country in the context of the Spanish economic development is addressed. In both cases the figures analysed are population and production. It is concluded that Spain has seen continuous economic and demographic depression of the inland area of the country (with the exception of Madrid) first in favour of the periphery and more recently of the maritime provinces of the Mediterranean and southern Atlantic regions: It is also observed that the initial development of the Basque Country was partly due to endogenous reasons but also to its strategic trading position between Castile and N.W. Europe. Later it was to develop a wider range of possibilities as a result of the accumulation of capital from iron exports and its incorporation into the unified Spanish market. Today, this market is being diluted in the new economic area of the European Union, which represents the new framework for the production system of the Basque Country.