The Political Economy of Family Allowances in a Catholic Country: The Spanish Case, 1926-1955

Seminari d'Estudiants del Doctorat en Història Econòmica

Guillem Verd (Universitat de Barcelona), The Political Economy of Family Allowances in a Catholic Country: The Spanish Case, 1926-1955

Directors: Dr. Sergio Espuelas (UB) i Dra. Montserrat Carbonell (UB)

Abstract | Paper complet

The development of family allowances became a cornerstone in most of the European welfare states after the Second World War. In explaining this popular measure, the literature has emphasised ideological, economic, and demographic factors as well as social coalitions and distributive struggles. This paper focuses on Spanish family allowances. Passed during the Spanish Civil War (1938) in the Francoist zone, they rapidly became the flagship of the regime’s social policy. However, the debates that preceded and framed the allowances remain largely unknown. This study analyses the controversies on family policies during the interwar period to establish which groups supported and opposed family allowance and under which model.

To do so, it relies on a number of sources to identify, first, the legal evolution of such policy through legal sources such as the Boletín Oficial del Estado, Gaceta de Madrid and legal compendiums. Second, the different models in generosity and coverage from Spanish Statistical Yearbooks and the National Welfare Institute’s statistics. Third, the opinions of social groups examining the debates in the INP, the Parliament, publications of relevant reformers and political party’s press and Manifestos.

The paper shows that family allowances gained momentum among Spanish conservative activists, Catholic unions, and reformist elites before the Civil War. However, apathy from the labour movement, fiscal constraints and opposition from most employers and landowners to additional economic costs prevented the measure from being passed during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the Spanish Second Republic. The Spanish Civil War changed the political landscape, making the family allowances an ideal policy for the new regime as an anti-inflationary measure to fight child poverty, reinforce the male breadwinner family and improve the regime’s legitimacy. This story has implications for understanding how ideological preferences and distributive conflicts led to specific policy models in a Catholic country under sharp regime changes.

Keywords: Family allowance, Family wage, Catholicism, Employers, Labour movement, Regime change

Hora: 14:30 hores
Lloc: Híbrid. Aula 2019 (Edifici 696), Facultat d'Economia i Empresa i on line en aquest enllaç.