Political economy and manufactures: A regional perspective

Abstract

xviiith Spanish industrial manufacturing has been duly covered by historiography: besides regional, sectorial and corporate analyses we can also count on studies centered upon the «industrial legacy» of the Ancien Régime. That is the very reason why this article has been tackled from a new perspective, based not only on assessing the degree of efficiency of theses formulated from the angle of political economics but on analysing the depth reached by regional initiatives for development springing from economic societies, farming and art academias, consulates, trading corporations, among others.Despite the high number of corporate initiatives and the availability of capital, there were very few sectors (cotton, flour, paper manufacturing) showing a truly viable technical and organizational model. Institutional restrictions and social resistance added to other limitations with no easy solution: low productivity rate, poor urban development or weak market integration, among others.

Keywords

• economía política
• empresa
• manufacturas
• regiones.