Energy Dependency and (re)Industrialization: Lessons from Spanish Economic Thinking on Coal and Development in the 19 th Century

Dépendance énergétique et (ré)industrialisation: leçons tirées de la pensée économique espagnole sur le charbon et le développement au 19e siècle

Adriana Calcagno
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Adriana Calcagno: PHARE - Philosophie, Histoire et Analyse des Représentations Économiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris

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Abstract: Energy dependency and reindustrialization are two important concerns in today's public discourses, especially in Europe. This is actually nothing new. This paper examines the difficulties faced by 19 th century Spain in achieving industrial development through the prism of access to coal and draws lessons from them. It shows that expanding the use of coal was seen as a key element to catch up with the industrializing European countries at a time when Spain was in relative economic decline. It highlights that Spanish economists wished to vastly increase the supply and consumption of coal, but that their policy recommendations differed. These divergences depended on their different perceptions of Spain's energy autonomy and on their position within the free-trade versus protectionism debate. The paper draws parallels with today's energy transition, in particular related to dependency on foreign fuel, as well as the commercial and industrial policies.

Keywords: Industrialisation; Développement; Énergie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09-25
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05345020v1
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Published in Revue d'économie politique, 2025, Vol. 135 (4), pp.701-729. ⟨10.3917/redp.354.0701⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05345020

DOI: 10.3917/redp.354.0701

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