Los empresarios y el Estado en torno a las intervenciones del régimen de Franco: la regulación de la inversión industrial (1938-1963)

This article discusses one of the most important economic policies of Franco dictatorship: A compulsory authorization that enterprises had to obtain from the Government as a previous step to open or modify their establishments. The traditional interpretation suggests that this regulation was used by the established industrials to protect themselves from new entering competitors. However, this idea is tinged with the analysis of the practical development of this policy, through the revision of the original files in the General Administration Archive, and the resolutions published in the Official Gazette. Sometimes the regulator was captured by the regulated established industrials, but sometimes the State's interests predominated. Finally, this interaction between the established industrials and the State about the regulation of the industrial investment is explained as a consequence of the institutional context of Franco's dictatorship.