Economic policy that aims to make a country self-sufficient and thus not reliant on trade with other nations. Franco and his advisors from the Falange believed that it was necessary to pursue a policy of autarky as other European countries were unwilling to trade with Spain due to Franco's close connections with the Axis powers. Autarky was a failure - it forced Spain to produce synthetic substitutes for goods that were often lacking in quality and extremely expensive to make and it lead to a decline in foreign investment. As part of the Stabilisation Plan (1959), autarky was dropped and international trade was encouraged which helped to boost foreign investment and lead to rapid improvements in the performance of the Spanish economy.