Resumen: This paper analyses the structural and technical changes in Spain since the 1980s, using annual input–output tables. Specifically, a differential structural decomposition analysis (SDA) is applied to shifts in value-added, revealing eight different components and allowing the estimation of the impacts of technical change on the process of economic transformation on a sector-by-sector basis. We conclude that growth in the Spanish economy in recent decades was a mix of technological modernization and general economic expansion, although with some heterogeneity among sectors over time. High-technology services played a key role in modernization in the late 1980s and 1990s. In fact, the growth of High-technology, Medium-high-technology, Energy and Construction sectors accelerated through the 2008 crisis. Labour compensation and returns from capital followed different trends both during expansions and recessions, intensifying income inequality in Spain. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.1080/09535314.2021.1974353 Año: 2021 Publicado en: ECONOMIC SYSTEMS RESEARCH 34, 2 (2021), 151-166 ISSN: 0953-5314 Factor impacto JCR: 2.081 (2021) Categ. JCR: ECONOMICS rank: 190 / 381 = 0.499 (2021) - Q2 - T2 Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.0 - Economics, Econometrics and Finance (Q1)