today is a good exponent of a long - standing tradition that has led the banco de espana to promote and sponsor economic history research, and to highlight the value of the documentary and bibliographical collection in our historical archives and in our library. the list of eminent personalities from our central bank noted for their love of history and its study is a long one. and it is this tradition that has enabled the banco de espana to continue promoting economic history research. many of these figures were my predecessors as governors or directors general of what was then known as the research department. 3 / 5 others, who collaborated with them, then went on, in many cases, to pursue brilliant careers in academia and research. indeed, some are here with us today. for the sake of brevity, and so as not to run the risk of missing anybody out, i will not mention in detail those who continued the work of the pioneers mariano rubio, angel madronero and joan sarda back in the 1960s. as a tribute to their work and following in their wake, i shall, without being exhaustive, set out some of the projects that our bank currently has under way or on the drawing board in terms of promoting economic history studies. firstly, the banco de espana regularly organises conferences focusing on the discussion of aspects relating to economic history. this year, for example, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the stabilisation plan, the banco de espana will, next october, be organising a conference in barcelona focusing on the analysis of the plan. it will likewise pay tribute to the figure of joan sarda. i trust you will be able to join us at this conference. also, since 2015 the bank has organised annually a top - level international economic history conference aimed at academia. in recent years, both our central bank researchers and external researchers financed by us have been selected to present their papers. in this year ’ s edition, the conference has been jointly organised with the cepr ’ s economic history section. secondly, since 2009, the banco de espana has had a biannual programme in place for economic history research grants. under the programme, universities commit themselves, following an agreement signed with the bank, to pursuing the research selected and to presenting and publishing their findings. the possibility of collaboration between researchers from both institutions is also envisaged. since 1980, under the initial backing of luis angel rojo, the bank has published a collection of monographs relating to

monetary and financial history, spanish and international alike, under the name “ economic history studies ” ( more familiarly known as the “ red series ” ). to date, this collection had solely included papers prepared or financed by the banco de espana. currently, however, with a view to extending and maintaining its continuity, we are assessing opening it up to other research not necessarily financed by the bank. to be added to the foregoing is all the sponsorship and funding activity of associations, universities and royal academies in the field of economic history. actions of a differing nature and scope are involved, giving continuity to our long - standing and intense promotion work. i am particularly gratified to be able to share with you today my satisfaction at the recognition recently granted by the spanish economic history association to the supportive work by the banco de espana. in short, we have been designated as an honorary member of this entity. my thanks to the association but, above all, to those who have made this work possible over the years, and to those continuing it and adding to its prestige today. lastly, allow me to stress another of the grounds for a publication such as that we are presenting today. it is a question of transparency, understood as the possibility of sharing information with society as a whole. as i pointed out in one of my early public appearances as governor of the banco de espana, i consider making high - quality statistical information 4 / 5 available to researchers as absolutely crucial for sound analyses and research enabling better - founded economic policy decision - making. 1 in this respect, we intend in the coming years to pursue various projects that allow these researchers to have access to our statistical information, thereby enabling different avenues of analysis and research of benefit to society as a whole. in conclusion, i would like to reiterate my satisfaction at these initiatives and to thank the efforts and contributions, from both the public and private spheres, of those who have participated in this publication. in some ways, this substantiates the fact that these avenues for sharing information and making it available to society are enormously beneficial for all. thank you. see my “ welcome address ” for the second annual research conference of banco de espana, 2018, at : https : / / www. bde. es / f / webbde / gap / secciones / salaprensa / intervencionespublicas / gobernador / arc / hdc030918en. pdf. 5 / 5