1. Introduction

Turning points are moments in a country’s history that alter the basic rules, institutions and attitudes upon which its past has been founded. Countries face turning points that cause economic challenges, and the way they respond to them depends on the international context as well as domestic restrictions. The aim of this book is to study how a small, peripheral country such as Spain tackled crucial long-run economic changes. The book concentrates on six turning points in the Spanish economy (1808, 1898, 1936, 1959, 1977 and 2008). The book argues that Spain, as a peripheral country, faced greater restrictions than core countries when it came to resolving its main challenges and explains the vulnerabilities and restrictions that shaped its economic policy responses each time.