Economic History of a Divided Europe: Four Diverse Regions in an Integrating Continent (Routledge Studies in the European Economy)

This book presents the sharp regional diff erences within the integrating European continent. Four regions – Northwestern Europe, Southern Europe, Central Europe, and Eastern-Southeastern Europe – represent high, medium, and relatively less-developed levels of economic advancement. These disparities have emerged as a result of historical diff erences that produced and reinforced cultural and behavioral diff erences. The author examines the distinctions between the regions, looks at how these differences transpired and became so retrenched, and answers the question of why some countries were able to elevate to higher levels of economic development while others could not. This book is unique in that it provides a timely historical analysis of the main causes of the most pressing conflicts in Europe today. Readers will come away from this book with a deeper understanding of the sharp divergence in economic standing between the four different regions of Europe, as well as knowledge about how institutional corruption and other cultural features exacerbated these variations. The book also offers a better understanding of major European Union confl icts between member countries and between member and nonmember countries, as well as the rise of autocratic regimes in certain countries. The book begins with a short history of European integration throughout European civilization and then goes on to discuss the modern reality of integration and attempts to homogenize the Continent that divided into four different macro-regions. It will primarily appeal to scholars, researchers and students studying Europe from various fi elds, including economics, business, history, political science, and sociology, as well as a general readership interested in Europe’s past, present, and future. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of contents Illustrations Introduction: Europe, its civilizations and historical regions Europe and its civilization The idea and reality of European integration In spite of integration, major macro-regional differences Is the Central and Eastern European backwardness the legacy of communism? The “longue durée” approach Evaluating and measuring peripheral backwardness The terms of backwardness, its measurement and generalization Regional differences and the future of Europe Notes 1 Long historical roads toward regional differences within Europe: Four regions in 1913 Explanatory theories and the reality The road toward a high level of advancement: Northwest Europe The revolutionary transformation of the Western mind from the Renaissance via Reformation to Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Northwest Europe at the top Dead-end roads and relative backwardness in the peripheries Stimulating influence by the connection with the advanced core Three distinct peripheral macro-regions before World War I Notes 2 A radically changed world, yet unchanged regional division: Four regions in early-21st-century Europe The 21st century: a dramatically changed world and Europe The regionalization of the enlarged European Union The other side of core-periphery relations: the road to catch up Four regions in the early 21st century The changing position of some countries in an unchanged regional divide Europe’s divided regions’ position in the world Notes 3 What preserves regional differences?: The social, economic, and cultural factors The dialectic of change and continuity Survival of micro-regional peripheral backwardness in advanced countries Social-economic structural weaknesses of peripheral countries Preserved peripheral social-cultural characteristics Anti-capitalist mentalities, sharply divided societies, and lower levels of education Weaknesses in entrepreneurship Peripheral attitude toward the state and institutions The black (or shadow) economy Labor market and work ethic weaknesses Epidemic corruption and tax evasion Tendencies toward authoritarian-dictatorial power Notes 4 The most developed core of Europe: The northwest Europe’s superpower status and the northwest region Reunified Germany in the driver’s seat What factors have helped the reproduction of Northwest’s preeminence in the 21st century? The economic strength of Northwest Europe Technological revolution, the renewed energy system, and deindustrialization The service revolution and the financial sector The strength of modern industries The Northwest: the biggest service provider The 2008 financial crisis in Northwest Europe Moderate neoliberal turn: weakening the welfare state and workers’ rights Questionable stability of the Northwest Notes 5 The Mediterranean-Irish region: Catching up with the West but burdened with remnants of a peripheral past Middle-income peripheral level until the mid-20th century The rise of Ireland and the Mediterranean The Irish miracle Catching up on the Mediterranean The Mediterranean-Irish 21st-century credit-fueled consumption bubble Financial-economic crisis hits the region hard Notes 6 Central Europe and the Baltics: Trapped in middle-income periphery? Belated and partial modernization: the historical background The interwar fiasco “Detour from the periphery to the periphery” Crisis and collapse Transformation to democratic market capitalism in new state formations Recovery and development based on capital inflow: under the tutelage of the European Union Crisis: major weaknesses surface after 2008 Conclusion Notes 7 The Russia-Turkey-Balkans low-income region: Outside Europe? The early 20th century: the most backward periphery of Europe A new opening to the European world, new states, and regimes after World War I Successes and failures in the interwar decades Economic performance of the region during the interwar decades New political environment and troubled history after World War II Rapid growth and industrialization Ambivalent modernization in Turkey Reproduced backwardness in Russia and the Balkans The Russia-Turkey-Balkan region and the European Union Transformation: rising or declining relative income level? The 21st century Notes Conclusion Notes Index "This book presents the sharp regional differences within the integrating European continent. Four regions-Northwestern Europe, Southern Europe, Central Europe, and Eastern-Southeastern Europe-represent high, medium, and relatively less-developed levels of economic advancement. These disparities have emerged as a result of historical differences that produced and reinforced cultural and behavioural differences. The author examines the distinctions between the regions, looks at how these differences transpired and became so retrenched, and answers the question of why some countries were able to elevate to higher levels of economic development while others could not. This book is unique in that it provides a timely historical analysis of the main causes of the most pressing conflicts in Europe today. Readers will come away from this book with a deeper understanding of the sharp divergence in economic standing between the four different regions of Europe, as well as knowledge about how institutional corruption and other cultural features exacerbated these variations. The book also offers a better understanding of major European Union conflicts between member countries and between member and non-member countries, as well as the rise of autocratic regimes in certain countries. The book begins with a short history of European integration throughout European civilization and then goes on to discuss the modern reality of integration and attempts to homogenize the Continent that divided into four different macro-regions. It will primarily appeal to scholars, researchers and students studying Europe from various fields, including economics, business, history, political science and sociology, as well as, a general readership interested in Europe's past, present, and future"-- Provided by publisher.