Industrial Production Census of Gipuzkoa in 1923-1924

Abstract

The aim of this report is to discuss the Industrial Production Census of Gipuzkoa, which was elaborated by the Foral Treasury in 1923-1924 to negotiate a new Economic Agreement and that was unpublished until now. The data of more than 3,000 companies allows us to define with precision the structural characteristics of the industry of Gipuzkoa regarding their size, location, finance, energy consumption, employment, inputs and production. The Census shows a marked duality in which traditional industrial sectors coexist with other novel ones, dedicated to manufacture of equipment and intermediate goods. Inputs were supplied to the domestic market —with the exception of some special steels, chemical and colonial goods— and they were manufactured to satisfy the domestic demand. The only exceptions were weapons, damascene work, espadrilles and tinned fish that had an unusual overseas impact.