¿Entre la limosna y el bienestar? Origen, desarrollo y consecuencias de las políticas sociales en Galicia (1890 1935)

Abstract

This essay tries to analyse the evolution of social policies in Spain, from charity to the first social insurances, through the perspective of a relatively poor and agrarian region as Galicia. By using new quantitative evidence, the regional analysis let us to the conclusion that the progress of social policies before the Civil War hardly helped to reduce social and economic inequalities among regions, since the main policies were gradual oriented to relieve industrial wage earners to problems derived from economic development. Therefore, results were better in the most industrialized regions. But, in general terms, the advance of social policies contributed in a positive way to change the social mentality and to improve the dignity of workers.