The introduction of sickness insurance in Spain in the first decades of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1962)

[Abstract:]Using new statistical data on financing, coverage and economic and health care provisions, this article analyses how sickness insurance was introduced, managed and extended in Spain, under the Franco dictatorship, between 1939 and 1962. This article highlights how the dictatorship accelerated its implementation for political motives and this resulted in a failure of the system due to the lack of public financing and the high pharmaceutical, medical and infrastructure cost

Labour repression and social justice in Franco’s Spain: the political objectives of compulsory sickness insurance, 1942-1957

[Abstract:]This article analyzes the basic characteristics of the labor and social policies of the Franco dictatorship established in Spain after the Civil War (1936-1939), and the links which existed between them. The offer of support to working families was presented through a paternalistic discourse of ‘social justice’ which was combined with tough repressive measures in the labor market. Within this context, compulsory social insurances pursued a political end, as they served to mitigate social tensions in a context of worker repression and harsh living conditions. Sickness insurance was a key element in this strategy, and it turned out to be very economical for the dictatorship, as the burden of financing the system was placed on employers and, above all, the workers themselves. This led to financial and management problems within a system providing imperfect coverage, with low benefits and serious inequalities in protection. Consequently, Spain moved away from other advanced countries which, at this time, were establishing their welfare states on the basis of two pillars: the universalization of benefits and the redistributive character of the system from a social point of view

De aquellas arenas estos lodos: el mercado de trabajo en España desde una perspectiva histórica

[Resumen] El mercado de trabajo ha adquirido un creciente protagonismo en los recientes debates políticos, económicos y mediáticos para explicar las elevadas tasas de desempleo y las dificultades para recuperar la senda del crecimiento económico en la economía española. Pero la mayoría de los argumentos utilizados resultan algo miopes al olvidar la perspectiva histórica. Partiendo de esta idea, este trabajo invita a reflexionar sobre tres cuestiones principales: analizar las características básicas del funcionamiento del mercado de trabajo durante los casi cuarenta años de dictadura franquista; analizar las herencias laborales del franquismo y los cambios producidos en el mercado de trabajo durante la etapa democrática; y, por último, reflexionar sobre el grado de responsabilidad del mercado laboral en las dificultades de la economía española a principios del siglo XXI. [Abstract:]Labour market has gained increasing protagonism in recent political debates, economic and media to explain the high rates of unemployment and the difficulties in recovering the path of economic growth in the Spanish economy. But most of these arguments are somewhat shortsighted because they usually forget the historical perspective. With this in mind, this work aims to think about three main issues. First, it analyzes the basic characteristics of the labour market for almost forty years of Franco's dictatorship. Second, it analyzes the labour legacies of dictatorship and the changes in the labour market during the democratic period. Third, it attempts to question to what extent labour market is responsible for the difficulties of the Spanish economy in the early XXIst century

Éxito y ocaso de una saga de negociantes catalanes en Galicia: la Casa de Comercio Francisco Ferrer y Albà (1750-1860)

This article tries to review the social and economic phenomenon that meant the arrival of Catalonian businessmen to Galicia in the eighteenth century. This line of research has been extensively studied by the Galician historiography either from a global point of view or through famous business families, most of them have survived till nowadays. However, we can not forget that many of the Catalonian families that arrived at Galician lands had a humbler origin and they were not always successful in business. <i>The Casa de Comercio Francisco Ferrer Albà</i> is an example of this. The history of this saga from its settlement to its decline offers a new perspective of analysis in that we can find a family company, founded by Catalonian promoters, which could not survive the disturbed years that Spain lived from 1750 to 1860.<br><br>Este artículo trata de revisar el fenómeno social y económico que supuso la llegada de negociantes catalanes a Galicia en el siglo XVIII. Este tema ha sido tratado ampliamente por la historiografía gallega bien desde una perspectiva global o bien a través de apellidos empresariales ilustres, muchos de los cuales han sobrevivido hasta nuestros días. Sin embargo, no podemos olvidar que muchas de las familias catalanas que llegaron a tierras gallegas eran de origen más modesto y que el éxito no siempre les acompañó en sus negocios, tal y como le ocurrió a la <i>Casa de Comercio Francisco Ferrer y Albà.</i> La historia de esta saga desde su asentamiento hasta su declive nos ofrece una nueva perspectiva de análisis en la que nos encontramos con una compañía familiar, fundada por fomentadores catalanes, que no pudo o no supo sobrevivir a los agitados años que vivió España entre 1750 y 1860

Salvador CRUZ ARTACHO y Julio PONCE ALBERCA (coords.),El mundo del trabajo en la conquista de las libertades, Jaén, Universidad de Jaén, 2011, 398 pp.

En las última

Algunas reflexiones sobre Las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación y la Docencia Universitaria

La autora, Margarita, nos hace en este artículo una serie de reflexiones que van desde lo que en la actualidad se hace en temas delas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación inmersas en la sociedad del conocimiento, hasta lo que "debería hacerse" a la hora de aplicarlas en la docencia universitaria. Los parámetros que baraja son: Situar lo que se está haciendo relacionado con las buenas prácticas docentes mostrando experiencias como la del grupo DIM,recursos e innovaciones docentes, proyectos tipo XTEC, SINERA y ESPIRAL, así como la dimensión de algunas líneas de investigación donde el intercambio de experiencias, los soportes y equipamientos utilizados, y las nuevas aplicaciones experimentadas en el aula, reflejan el avance conseguido en ciertos niveles educativos: primaria, secundaria y FP. Interrogarse sobre el grado de visibilidad de esas buenas prácticasen los niveles universitarios, donde el esfuerzo por impulsar las TIC en la docencia es menor, aunque ciertos planes de convergencia europea así lo requieran (créditos ECTS),y la autoformación del profesorado que quiera estar al día en lo que a su alumnado le rodea y preocupa.También se pregunta cual es el papel de la Universidad con respecto a la sociedad, su liderazgo como motor de avance en las nuevas sociedades de creación y gestión del conocimiento

The labour market under the iron fist of the state’: the Franco dictatorship in the mirror of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin

[Abstract] This article focuses on the idea that intervention in the labour market through the suspension of labour rights and freedoms, fear and a fall in purchasing power all played a key role in achieving political and economic objectives in the regimes of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. However, in each of these cases, the success of this policy was not as had been expected. These European experiences were essential for the configuration of the labour framework in the Franco dictatorship. The iron-fisted control of the labour market came to Spain through legal texts and institutions that were in many cases a blatant copy of those applied in Italy and Germany. In spite of the ideological distance between them, we can also find some common traits with Stalin’s labour policies. The results obtained were even worse for Spain, and the negative effects on the economy were more serious, due to the greater longevity of the Spanish dictatorshi