why is eastern europe poorer than western europe?

why is eastern europe poorer than western europe?

This One Major Factor Makes Germany Richer Than Italy. Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Bulgarians, Serbs, and a few others are traditionally Orthodox Christians. This is Part 6 of an 8-Part series on Geography and Culture. It's just fascinating. Moldova is an independent nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. Although Europe represents only about 8 percent of the planet's landmass, from 1492 to 1914, Europeans conquered or colonized more than 80 percent of the entire world. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Explore Eastern Europe. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax 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. Countries like Italy, S. Korea, Spain, Portugal and Greece would each rank below Mississippi as the poorest states in the country. At least if the goal is more economic output and higher living standards. The economy is comparatively lower and less stable than in Western Europe. Look again at the second graph above. From West to East the climate, becoming more severe (in Siberia - almost impossible for an agricultural civilization) because decrease in influence of the Gulf stream. A long line of horse-lords swept west from the steppe into eastern europe, and would generally displace the tribes living there - all the way up to the Mongols. Most of the Jews who live in the United States are the descendants of people who once lived in Eastern Europe. This is why Eastern Europe, in general, is poorer than countries in Western, Central, and Northern Europe. But if these factors were at play in the first wave, they havent had the same effect in the second. Western Europe is a major tourist attraction with over 100 million visitors per year. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except for material where copyright is reserved by a party other than FEE. 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. Gunpowder was really important for conquering territory; it allows a small number of people to exercise a lot of influence. This shows that eastern European countries took the opportunity to act quickly. 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. Due to its Communist history, language barrier, poor infrastructure, poverty and just overall bad reputation, Eastern Europe has managed to deter the hoards of annoying tourists that are plaguing Western Europe. 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. Despite these differences, the former East has narrowed the . 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. Resource 01: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_EuropeResource 02: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Culture, Differences Between Eastern and Western Roman Empire, Differences Between Eastern And Western Religions, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe. In fact, the Ottomans once controlled a large chunk of this region. Through this article, let us examine the differences further. 2 2. The reformation gave way to more literacy, the Protestant work ethic, which resulted in rapid advances in the sciences and technology. Understanding why eastern European countries chose to respond differently during the second wave is complicated, though. Whats the difference between Eastern and Western Europe? People in the former East Germany earn less than their counterparts in the former West. I don't discount Mr Sowell's argument, I would add a major game changer was between the eastern and the western doctrine of the Trinity. Example: 1.56% of Eastern Europeans are atheist. 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. Why Did Western Europe Dominate the Globe? These two regions consist of a large number of countries that enrich the diversity of the two regions. The main differences are the recognition of the pope as the head of the church, and the fact that priests in the Eastern orthodox faith are allowed to marry. The vast majority of people in Eastern Europe speak a Slavic language. Poland and eastern europe (as well as parts of Germany) did not have the higher level of urbanism at this time as in comparison with some Celtic Gallic settlements, which were in many ways already integrated into the Roman trade network in the case of southern Gaul. This tool measures the stringency of efforts to control the virus on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the most restrictive. It severely inhibited political and economic development. Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by QCity Editorial Stuffif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Foreigners visiting Europe often find themselves wondering what the differences are between Eastern and Western Europe. Daily new COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, second wave, eastern Europe. This may have produced scepticism about the severity of the pandemic. Although Europe represents only about 8 percent of the planet's landmass, from 1492 to 1914, Europeans conquered or colonized more than 80 percent of the entire world. What can we learn from the differences between Eastern and Western Europe? For that to happen, the countries have to be small and close to one another. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Cases and deaths have not been spread evenly across the region. And while 7.5% of East Germans ages 55 to 64 were unemployed in 2018, the share was 5.3% among West Germans in the same age range. All rights reserved. I'm from Balkan, we have to translate Thomas Sowell in albanian, serbo-croatian, bullgarian, rumunian, greec .. Also economically, the Western European countries are much more advanced than the eastern European countries. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Roma is an Indo-European language that originated in India. Example: You could draw a long river to illustrate the blue Danube. Being dominated for centuries has led to lingering inequality and long-lasting effects in many formerly colonized countries, including poverty and slow economic growth. Eastern Europe is generally poorer than Western Europe. There are many possible explanations for why history played out this way, but few can explain why the West was so powerful for so long. The majority of western Europeans live within 50 kilometers (30 miles) from their place of birth. ), See also: How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall. Here, we take a look at why this has happened. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Daily new COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, eastern and western Europe. One big factor that's important to the advancement of any defense technology is how much money a political leader can spend. A thousand years ago, no one would have ever expected that result, for at that point western Europe was hopelessly backward. An important factor was also the raids of nomads from the steppes, ravaged Eastern Europe. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, How the attitudes of West and East Germans compare, 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall, Gasoline costs more these days, but price spikes have a long history and happen for a host of reasons, Inflation has risen around the world, but the U.S. has seen one of the biggest increases, Views of the economy have turned sharply negative in many countries amid COVID-19, Prior to COVID-19, Urban Core Counties in the U.S. And I mean apocalyptic. Language spoken in most eastern European countries includes Russian and Ukrainian. In the early 2000s, the unemployment rate was about 10 percentage points higher in the former East than in the former West nearly five times the gap in 2018. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright 2010-2018 Difference Between. 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. But a while ago I ran into this interesting post about the Romans in Eastern Europe: The Romans were mostly interested in conquering areas that had a high degree of self sufficiency which could provide a tax base for them to extract from. A heretical Christian sect, known as the Hussites (named after Jan Huss), challenged the Catholic Church in part of Eastern Europe during the early 15th century, but they were stamped out by the Catholic political elite. 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! The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that the name Eastern Europe is used to refer to all European countries that were previously ruled by communist regimes while the name Western Europe refers to the more economically stable and developed Western countries. But Im digressing. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender. why is eastern europe less developed The Polish Lithuanian commonwealth was extremely powerful and wealthy by controling the rivers and by extension farmland and trade between Baltic and Black Seas. When it's easier to travel and grow food, it's easier to sell the food at a greater. why is eastern europe poorer than western europe? By introducing very strict prevention measures early on, countries in the region had significantly fewer COVID-related deaths than their western European counterparts. 4. You'll still need to back up the peace with armed forces, but you won't actually fight all that much, and that's a much better outcome. Bohemia (Czech lands) was one of the biggest and most developed economic centers of the Holy Roman Empire. Less Diverse: Eastern European countries are less diverse. There's a brain drain. Personally, I would much rather see expenditures devoted to infrastructure, or scientific research, or free preschool for everybodythings that would carry big economic benefitsbut in this world, I don't think you can stop doing military research or spending money on the military. While the Soviet Union was once considered to be the most important country in Eastern Europe, many ex-Soviet nations are, in fact, not even in Europe. We spoke with him recently about his research interests and what led him to study this particular topic. Its clear that these two regions hold many similarities as well as some stark contrasts; it will be interesting to see what changes occur over the next few years. One lesson the book teaches is that actions involving war, foreign policy, and military spending can have big, long-lasting consequences: this is a lesson that policy makers should never forget. Turkish belongs to the Turkic language family. Stringency of COVID-19 control measures in eastern and western Europe. Great work Dr. Sowell. Europe Climate Zones & Classifications | What Is the Climate In Europe? The GDP of Romania in year 2017 is $467 billion and PPP is approximately $25000. 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. However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the European Union. Eastern-Europe-map2 by CrazyPhunk self-made based upon: Image:Eastern-Europe-map2.png. 7. During the cold war period, this region was referred to as the Eastern bloc or else the Soviet bloc. Russias GDP per capita (PPP) was $14,900 as of 2018. Very hard for a country to be doing well after all those struggles. Why is Eastern Europe less developed than Western Europe? So more spending would not only mean greater odds of victory over an enemy, but more rapid change in military technology. Spain has more high-speed rail tracks than any other European country. More specifically, the Eastern orthodox Church is the branch of Christianity with the largest number of adherents in this region. By the way, the economy in some eastern European countries (Poland, Romania and Hungary) is relatively close to the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese or Scandinavian countries economy. I feel like its a lifeline. Most of Eastern Europe was not touched by any Ancient advanced civilisation, either - they had to develop their own, except for the South Slavs. 7. Here is an Eastern Europe religion map that depicts the split of Christianity after the Great Schism of 1054. From the Reformation to the 20th century. 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. Breathtaking nature Last, but definitely not least, nature in Eastern Europe is stunning. Amazing how so many refuse to acknowledge how climate and geography go hand and hand with a countrys economic development. What countries make up Eastern Europe? Or, that when Europeans began to travel the world, people in other countries did not have the immunity to fight off the diseases they brought with them. Eastern Europe is a term that typically refers to the countries in Eastern and Central Europe, which includes Russia. 2. Western Europe's Weakness Provoked Putin? And Im debunking the argument that we should copy nations such as Denmark by allowing a larger government in the United States (though I do want to copy Danish policies in other areas, which generally are more pro-economic liberty than what we have in America). and I thought it was because they just freed themselves from communism a few decades ago. For example, how did states get the ability to impose heavy taxes? Required fields are marked *. Why are countries in eastern Europe poorer than in western Europe Caltech's Philip Hoffman, the Rea A. and Lela G. Axline Professor of Business Economics and professor of history, has a new explanation: the advancement of gunpowder technology. Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute has put together some apples-to-apples data suggesting the answer is no. 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. Total compensation, gross wages and salaries, and disposable (or after-tax) income have long been lower in the former East Germany than in the former West, according to the governments report. Eastern European death rates overtook those in the west in early October, but restrictions in the region which had eased after the first wave still lagged behind controls reintroduced in the west. Muslims are a minority in most parts of Europe. The highest mountain in eastern Europe is Mount Elbrus, which stands at 18,510 feet tall. Despite substantial improvements in recent decades, the former East Germany continues to trail the former West Germany on important economic measures ranging from unemployment to productivity, according to an annual German government report on the status of German unity. (The most recent version of the report, from September, is available here in German. Hong Kong and Singapore, for instance, used to be poor jurisdictions. Answer (1 of 3): The main reason is the Atlantic conveyor. When you go back that far, you need to use to use a proxy for human capital. Why is Eastern Europe Historically Poorer than Western Europe? - reddit SUU Macroblog - A Living Textbook: Why Is Eastern Europe Poorer? ------------------------------------------------------------ And all of this describes Europe. Eastern Europe is more industrialized than Western Europe while Western European countries tend to be wealthier than their eastern counterparts. 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. Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? | Thomas Sowell Western Europe: More Catholics and Protestant Christians can be seen. Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. Oxford COVID-19 government response tracker, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. The Mongols ravaged and destroyed the entirety of the Rus' land for centuries while making the Rus' their slaves. Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that lists and briefly describes the major geographical features of Eastern Europe. They often wonder if theyre even in the same country when they arrive at their destination! Nationalism, therefore, was an important element in the culture of Eastern Europe for a long time, sometimes leading to major wars. Even much of Russia is located in Asia. And while 7.5% of East Germans ages 55 to 64 were unemployed in 2018, the share was 5.3% among West Germans in the same age range. 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. Summary: Despite all of the above, Eastern Europe is still not a poor region. Countries in the region imposed strict measures while being relatively mildly affected, whereas western countries waited until things got bad. That's because the Black Death was at its peak. Manage Settings With so much diversity within this region, its easy to see why people from around the globe flock here every year. 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.

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why is eastern europe poorer than western europe?