Josean Garrues Irurzun (Pamplona, 1962) is a economic historian specialising in business history, energy and contemporary economic policies. Professor of Economic History at the University of Granada since 2017, his academic career focuses on industrialisation, the electricity sector, the formation of economic elites and corporate governance strategies in Spain during the 19th and 20th centuries.
He holds a degree in Geography and History (1986) and a master's degree in Contemporary History from the University of Granada (1988). He received his PhD in Economics and Business Studies from the same institution in 1996 with a thesis entitled The process of industrialisation in Navarre: the development of the electricity sector (1888-1980). He had previously defended a doctoral thesis on the hydroelectric sector in Navarre (1992) at the University of Zaragoza.
He has spent most of his career at the University of Granada, where he began teaching in 1990 and served as a senior lecturer (1999-2017) before becoming a professor. His teaching covers undergraduate and postgraduate subjects, including Industrial Organisation: Historical Evidence and, at master's level, courses such as Social Network Analysis: Economic Power and Corporate Power in the 20th Century and Capitalism and Economic Inequality: History and Alternatives.
His initial research focused on regional energy constraints and electrification in Navarre and Andalusia, before evolving towards a comparative study of Spanish energy policy, the internationalisation of electricity companies and the configuration of business networks. In recent years, he has expanded his work to include the analysis of economic elites, the education of management elites and the presence of women in corporate power.
Author of numerous articles in leading national and international journals, such as Business History, Enterprise & Society, Rural History and Energies, he has also contributed to book chapters and coordinated teaching innovation projects. His publications include studies on rural electrification in Spain, the regulation of the electricity sector, the role of business schools in the training of elites and the trajectory of women in large companies.
He has supervised doctoral theses on energy companies and corporate elites, participated in projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Regional Government of Andalusia, and collaborated with researchers from Spanish and foreign universities (Ulster, Edinburgh, Nottingham). His academic stays include periods at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Nottingham Institute for Business History.
He has four six-year periods of research recognised by the CNEAI-ANECA and five regional periods by the Andalusian Knowledge Agency. He has been a member of editorial committees, such as that of Investigaciones de Historia Económica, and of the faculty and statutory reform committees of the University of Granada.
In addition to his academic work, he has disseminated his research in the mainstream media (Público, Eldiario.es, Ideal), analysing topics such as the energy transition, the electricity sector during the Franco regime and the role of business elites in Spanish democracy.
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