The Minorcan Way of Growth: The End of an Economic Model (1960-2010)

Abstract

In 1977 the authors Farré, Marimon and Surís presented a rigorous study of the peculiar path of economic development in Minorca in their work La vía menorquina del crecimiento. This model compared the divergence of Minorca with the economies of the other Balearic islands and mainland Spain, and analysed the significant intersectoral balance on the island,
which was characterised by the presence of a strong secondary, eminent primary, and a prominent emerging and thriving tourism industry. This paper examines the evolution of the Minorcan economy before and after the theory of intersectoral balance, observes and dates its dilution to the late 1970s and early 1980s, with ample statistical data, and determines the causes and consequences.