The Instituto de Estudios Económicos was founded in May 1979 by a group of leading Spanish businessmen to promote, carry out and disseminate works and research on economic and social matters, especially those affecting Spain, in order to boost private enterprise and to the market as an efficient mechanism for the creation and allocation of resources. The IEE was born with three fundamental purposes: the analysis of the 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 issues; and finally, the training of entrepreneurs and business leaders in the field of free market economy, with special attention to the specific case of Spain.