why is eastern europe poorer than western europe?

However, the South Slavs themselves didn't have it easy, being subjugated by Franks, Bulgars and Byzantines, and later Magyars, Ottomans, Romanians, Austrians, Soviets, etc. I mean, as a Brit, I can see how our island had the best of it regarding no land border and access to the sea! Being dominated for centuries has led to lingering inequality and long-lasting effects in many formerly colonized . Example: Much of Eastern Europe's population has Russian ancestry. ------------------------------------------------------------ Before that point, Western and Eastern Europe were relatively similar in prosperity. We spoke with him recently about his research interests and what led him to study this particular topic. Has Eastern Europe always been poorer than Western Europe, and if so, why? People in the former East Germany are also less optimistic than their counterparts in the former West on a variety of measures, including whether children today will grow up to be better off financially than their parents. Please do not edit the piece, ensure that you attribute the author and mention that this article was originally published on FEE.org, Living Standards Are Markedly Higher in the United States, are doomed bydemographics tofiscal chaos, America should copy their expansive welfare states. Long-run growth matters. So more spending would not only mean greater odds of victory over an enemy, but more rapid change in military technology. Sorry anon point already proven . They were subjugated by, at war with, or were the front lines and battlefields of the austrian wars against the Ottomans for four and a half centuries. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. ), See also: How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall. Lesley has taught American and World History at the university level for the past seven years. The impact of modernization and individualization can be clearly seen in the lifestyles of people. The reporter from the Wall Street Journal who shared it remarked that Purple areas are rich as US states. Eastern European countries include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Bulgaria Croatia (Hrvatska), Czech Republic (esk Republika), Estonia (Eesti), Georgia ( ) Hungary (Magyarorsz g), Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Montenegro Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine. It's just fascinating. Transport, accommodation and food tend to take a smaller bite out of your wallet, without compromising on history, culture, and experience. Western Europe is known for many things, but perhaps most famously it is the home of some of the worlds greatest tourist attractions. Max Weber Fellow in Social and Political Sciences, European University Institute. You havent even mentioned socialism and central managed economies, the truth is that a lot of these countries were pretty 'rich' before ww2. Productivity in the East, in other words, was 75% of productivity in the West on a per-capita basis. Being dominated for centuries has led to lingering inequality and long-lasting effects in many formerly colonized countries, including poverty and slow economic growth. In the Eastern European countries, the conservative ideas are more prominent in comparison to the Western region. Countries like Italy, S. Korea, Spain, Portugal and Greece would each rank below Mississippi as the poorest states in the country. The majority of western Europeans live within 50 kilometers (30 miles) from their place of birth. The fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago this week brought far-reaching social and economic changes to communist East Germany, and people on both sides of the former barrier say the changes that have occurred since 1989 have had a positive influence on living standards in their country, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Although they may seem like completely different worlds at first glance, there are some striking similarities between eastern and western European countries that can help travelers decide where to go on vacation or which country to live in after college graduation. It can be further subdivided into four sub-regions: Northern Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe. 1. Most of the countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, were never part of the Soviet Union. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Moldova, Lithuania are some countries of Eastern Europe. In fact, the Ottomans once controlled a large chunk of this region. Western Europe: United Kingdom, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Vatican City, Netherlands, Sweden, Malta, Italy, Iceland, Germany, Greece, Finland are some examples for countries that belong to Western Europe. What can we learn from the differences between Eastern and Western Europe? Some argued that this was because of economics: that eastern European countries locked down early because they feared their economies would . (In all economic statistics in this analysis, Berlin is counted in East Germany, even though the city was divided during communism and is not directly comparable to other parts of East Germany.). Usually, when this question is asked, the response is that WWII and the Cold War ruined Eastern Europe, or that the agricultural and industrial revolutions began in Britain and not in Eastern Europe. Cultural Syncretism Definition & Examples | What is Religious Syncretism? Neighbouring Slovakia, on the other hand, imposed stricter measures despite having far fewer cases and deaths. Electoral politics could explain the reluctance of the two countries to enter another lockdown with politicians seeing it as an unpopular measure that would also delay elections. Constantinople is now the city of Istanbul in Turkey, and the greatest church of the Eastern Orthodox faith, the Hagia Sophia, is located there. Even before the Holocaust, Jews faced terrible discrimination from the Christian-majority populations in which they lived. And all of this describes Europe. Today, both Judaism and the Yiddish language are scarce in this part of the world. But exploring Soviet-era Eastern Europe is not even half the story. So that's not the answerit's something else. Through this article, let us examine the differences further. The countries in western Europe have a more individualistic culture, with people caring about their success. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Thanks! Why is the Eastern Europe Poorer than the Western Europe?There are many reasons, the main ones are : location (Western Europe discovered new lands, Eastern Europe faced nomads), religion, the ottomans and the communism. However, unlike other Latin people, Romanians belong to the Eastern Orthodox faith, and unlike almost all other Eastern Orthodox countries, Romanians use the Latin alphabet. Cross-posted from the International Libertyblog. - Definition, History & Criticism, Chaos Theory: Definition, History & Examples, What is a Pre-Existing Condition? Turkish belongs to the Turkic language family. However, most central and eastern European countries have been gradually converging towards western Europe countries over the past few decades after the transition to market economies, the introduction of democracy, and the formation of the European Union. 4. Example: 1.56% of Eastern Europeans are atheist. I've also been interested in the development of tax systems. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Richer not only than Europe, but even more prosperous than the United States. The technology grew to include more than just guns: armed ships, fortifications that can resist artillery, and more, and the Europeans became the best at using these things. I understand why it looks that way but that's because of your perspective. The four major religions in Eastern Europe are the Eastern Orthodox faith, Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. Authors compilation. The way to think of Europe is that it is a big collection of peninsulas jutting out from Asia. Almost all the Muslims who live in Eastern Europe belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. Seldom do you hear an average American complain about Poland or Estonia for not spending enough into defending Europebecause those countries, despite being . One difference is that Eastern European countries were part of the Soviet Union for decades while Western European countries had more independence during this period. Western European countries are generally considered to include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland (Republic of), Italy(although it could also be grouped with Central/Eastern European nations), Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Most Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Answer (1 of 3): The main reason is the Atlantic conveyor. I dont have a policy lesson here: simply an observation that the United Kingdom has one really rich region (Greater London) and quite few relatively poor regions. But something like the smallpox epidemic that ravaged Mexico when the Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts overthrew the Aztec Empire just isn't the whole story of Corts's victory or of Europe's successful colonization of other parts of the world. The influence of the ocean. The Chinese invented gunpowder, but Hoffman, whose work applies economic theory to historical contexts, argues that certain political and economic circumstances allowed the Europeans to advance gunpowder technology at an unprecedented rateallowing a relatively small number of people to quickly take over much of the rest of the globe. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Well, Eastern Europe has always been less developed than the Western half. By introducing very strict prevention measures early on, countries in the region had significantly fewer COVID-related deaths than their western European counterparts. Definitions of Western and Eastern Europe: Characteristics of Western and Eastern Europe: Difference Between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Difference Between Commonwealth and Protectorate. The Polish Lithuanian commonwealth was extremely powerful and wealthy by controling the rivers and by extension farmland and trade between Baltic and Black Seas. Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. A third of all languages spoken in western Europe are indigenous and not derived from Latin or Greek. | Thomas Sowell. Historically, the culture of Eastern Europe has been closely linked to the history of the rest of the continent. She has a Master's degree in History. Europe's economic crisis has thrown into relief the economic disparity between the Continent's richer, northern half and its poorer . For example, differences in economic strength could explain why the relatively richer Czech Republic waited to reintroduce restrictions (thinking it could bear the brunt of a high number of infections), but this doesnt account for the relatively poorer Romanias decision to do the same. Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. Between these two regions, a myriad of differences can be viewed regarding the geographical location, culture, economy, etc. These countries have several different borders with Russia, as well as other European nations such as Germany or Poland. In either case, you'll still be spending money on the military and on military research. There is a very important ocean . All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Put another way, people in the former East Germany earned 86% the after-tax income of their West German counterparts in 2017. Stringency of COVID-19 restrictions, second wave, eastern Europe. Western Europe is incredibly rich in culture from rich cuisine (French cuisine is divine and Im going to include Portuguese cuisine too) to traditional festivals still being held. It is related to Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Answer (1 of 7): The time lapse. The spread of communism during the beginning and middle of the 20th century had a devastating effect of the culture and economy of Central Europe. Create your account. 50 Mississippi. 3. Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. So as an explanation, industrialization doesn't work. Nationalism, therefore, was an important element in the culture of Eastern Europe for a long time, sometimes leading to major wars. One big factor that's important to the advancement of any defense technology is how much money a political leader can spend. In either event, the people of Romania and Moldova are closely related. Spain has more high-speed rail tracks than any other European country. Eastern Europe is generally poorer than Western Europe. Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. Im simply making the modest yet important argument that Europeans would be more prosperous if the fiscal burden of government wasnt so onerous. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Why did Eastern Europe lag behind Western Europe in terms of economic development? And the more that the political leaders spend, the better their chances of defeating other leaders and, in the long run, of dominating the other cultures. succeed. As an eastern european I want to say that while what Sowell explained might be true, the reasons he gave are minor in comparison to the economic damage that Russia and Communism caused in eastern Europe. >Eastern European men >Like seriously, they are so formal, handsome, and respectful.. Yes, there are lots of conventional explanationsindustrialization, for examplebut on closer inspection they all fall apart. Youll get a better idea of how different cultures influence one another and why its difficult to generalize about either region. Five of the six states in the former East Germany with the exception of the city-state of Berlin had lower per-capita productivity in 2018 than the West German state with the lowest per-capita productivity, Schleswig-Holstein. For most of the Middle Ages, the West was dirt poor, and the real money was in the east. Muslims are a minority in most parts of Europe. Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms, Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza, Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19, Difference Between Motorola Droid Bionic and Droid HD, Difference Between Coherence and Consistency, What is the Difference Between PEP and PrEP, What is the Difference Between Syphilis and Chancroid, What is the Difference Between Open and Closed Mitosis, What is the Difference Between Typical and Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia, What is the Difference Between Menactra and Menveo, What is the Difference Between Soft Skills and Technical Skills, What is the Difference Between Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Narcolepsy. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that Eastern Europe consists of countries that once belonged to the Soviet block, unlike the Western European countries. Understanding why eastern European countries chose to respond differently during the second wave is complicated, though.

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