El legado histórico franquista y el mercado de trabajo en España

Abstract

This article addresses the effects of the francoist historical legacy on the making of the labour market in Spain and its persistent imbalances. According to the conventional wisdom, the “rigidity” of the francoist labour market outlasted the dictatorship and is the main cause of the current problems such as unemployment, labour dualism or competitiveness. The article aims to show that whereas such legacy effects exist, they are quite different and even contrary to those pointed out by the conventional wisdom. In particular, I hold that the main continuity from the dictatorship has been an employment regime characterized by the subordination of Labour, both in economic (low wages) and political (weak power resources) terms. To defend this thesis, I reassess the recent evolution of the industrial relations in Spain, broadening the focus to the rest of the political economy and paying special attention to the power balances, in order to examine the path-dependent continuities and the mechanisms underlying them.