Arbitrism

The arbitristas were a group of reformist thinkers in late 16th and 17th century Spain concerned about the decline of the economy of Spain and proposed a number of measures to reverse it. Arbitristas directed analyses of problem and proposals ("memorials") for their solution to the king, asking him to take a particular action in the economic or political sphere. The increase in the production of proposals and analyses outlining solutions to the perceived problems of the empire were at a pace comparable to the inflation in the real economy during the price revolution of the sixteenth century and increased further with the crisis of the seventeenth century.

==General description== thumb|right|200px|Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, who was influenced by the arbitristas, but failed to prevent Spain's further decline. Arbitrismo developed mainly in Castile during the second half of the sixteenth century and the seventeenth century. It is related intellectually to the School of Salamanca. Arbitrismo is part of the first economic literature worthy of such a name, simultaneously and largely based on the mercantilism of other European kingdoms, such as France and England. The solution ("arbitrio") in this context to any measure that the monarch can adopt for the benefit of the realm, in the exercise of his sovereignty and by his own will. In the plural, arbitrios was a name given to certain taxes used for public expenditures; it was also applied to a fiscal figure who reports short-term benefits and does not require negotiation with taxpayers. The arbitristas outlined specific reforms aimed at reversing Spain's perceived decline.