This paper provides a reconstruction of the yearly values of Mexico's foreign trade within the period 1870–1929, the era of liberal capitalism. It uses the Mexican official statistics as well as those published by Mexico's main trading partners: the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany. The article assesses de quality and consistency of the Mexican sources and applies explicit criteria to rectify the official figures and to fill the gaps in the available information. It also proposes a new breakdown of trade values, which allows distinguishing between commodity trade and specie movements. As a result, the article provides widi complete annual series of commodity trade and specie flows, as well as a yearly estimate of the trade balance throughout the period.

In this article the author pays attention to the role of credit in the negotiation of wool sales by big and small flockowners in the region of Soria during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. He proves that the small flockowners always sold their wool several months in advance of its delivery, in order to borrow money from the merchants that bought it. Next he proves that during the sixteenth century the big flockowners usually sold their wool to the merchants on conditions and could delay the payment for a long period of time; they also obtained favorable very good prices for their products. Finally he proves that in the course of the seventeenth century the big flockowners of Soria had to face increasing financial difficulties that forced them to borrow money with increasing frequency in order to be able to preserve their flocks.

In the first years of the XXth century, the most significant Spanish electrical companies were established. The availability of hydroelectricity allowed this companies to overcome the traditional power deficit of the country. At the same time the new energy resources provided new opportunities for the reallocation of firmns and bussines in general. In this article we study the origin and the evolution of Hidroeléctrica Española, one of the most important companies in the electrical sector. The role of Hidroeléctrica was decisive in transforming the industrial structure of various regions and also to foster economic growth.

This paper explains the so-called «Spanish railways problem» as a consequence of the new competition that this traditional mean of transport suffered from the rapid development of the automobile industry. Road transportation more than any other factor was the cause of the financial difficulties of the railways companies before the Civil War. We also study the reaction of these firms and the failures of all measures that were taken.

An abundant literature has insisted on the oligopolistic character of the Spanish banking system during the Francoism, a phenomenon led by the great institutions with undesirable consequences on the credit supply. In addition, oligopoly would have been backed by the authorities. Nevertheless, new documentation from bank's archives shows that collusion was full of difficulties and breaches, and also that the behaviour of the Government not always responded to the demand of the big banks.