The Institute of Economic Studies was founded in May 1979 by a group of prominent Spanish businessmen to promote, carry out, and disseminate works and research on economic and social matters, especially those affecting Spain, with the aim of boosting private enterprise and the market as an efficient mechanism for creating and allocating resources. The IEE was born with three fundamental purposes: the analysis of major economic and social issues; the creation and dissemination of lines of thought that guide, and where appropriate modify, the dominant public opinion on economic and social questions; and finally, the training of entrepreneurs and business leaders in the field of the free market economy, with special attention to the specific Spanish case.