"The level of education of Navarrans at the worker or middle management level is one of our competitive strengths -- even if you are comparing us with Germany or France," says Jésus Zabalo of SODENA.

Among Navarre's three universities is the Public University of Navarre. Costs to attend are minuscule -- a few hundred dollars a year buys a four-year degree. That is one reason the education level in Navarre is above Spain's national average and is fast approaching the levels in the most developed countries of the European Union.

The University of Navarre, a private institution run by the Opus Dei, has additional campuses in Madrid and Barcelona. The prestige of this university, which confers an average of 134 doctorates a year, spreads well beyond Navarre's boundaries. The Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital are especially renowned in the world.

The Open University has centers in both Pamplona and Tudela.

There are not many places in the world with a population of a half million or so that have attracted the degree of attention from global investors that Navarre has.

To understand one important facet of the attraction, journey back 500 years to the time when Navarre was an important European kingdom. It developed and codified a unique administrative system, under which the kings of Navarre guaranteed certain citizens' rights and gave the government fiscal and operational autonomy.

When Spain forged its democracy in the 1970s, Navarre salvaged its Middle Ages autonomous status. That means the government of Navarre can collect taxes and can command its own economic future. It built a modern and highly flexible administration with intense interest and expertise in promoting economic development. In fact, the industrial takeoff which Navarre experienced 30 years ago was stimulated by its government institutions. They set the strategic path toward developing an industrial base, and they continue to wield their capacity to make quick decisions in the most important areas of economic activity.

The operative word is "flexibility." Most of Navarre's public officials come from a background in industry and they well-appreciate the need for quick action and minimal red tape.

The government can, and does, treat each case of industrial investment individually, just as it does other special cases of economic activity. (It is rumored, for example, that Indurain, Navarre's champion cyclist, has an especially favorable tax arrangement with the government of Navarre.)