The Balkan Economies C.1800-1914: Evolution Without Development (Paperback or Softback)

The Balkan Economies c. 1800-1914 is a strongly revisionist book that compares the economic progress of Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia in the century before World War One. Native language primary sources are used to argue that these territories probably experienced economic decline rather than growth, at least from the mid-nineteenth century. But far from hindering development, Ottoman rule made possible more progress than successive governments. This in-depth study promises to be the definitive economic history of the Balkans.

"Palairet's new Balkan Economies may likely become the most authentic work on the topic." Business History Review

"The author set out to provide an indispensable economic history for all scholars interested in the history of the Balkans and he is to be congratulated for successfully reaching his goal." Charles L. Bertrand, Canadian Journal of History

"[Michael Palairet's] book, closely argued and documented from rarely tapped national archives and an immense range of contemporary and recent writings, is both a contribution to comparative economic history and a refutation of the hitherto widely accepted perception that, after 1878, Balkan-Slav economic growth was `slow, faltering but still significant'(p. 1)." Michael Kaser, International History Review

"Among the strengths revealed in this book is the author's ability to combine attention to detail with a broad comparative sweep...At its best, text and illustration come together to illuminate buildings as the embodiment of "competing visions" of aesthetic and social formation." Slavic Rreview

"...a controversial and immensely stimulating piece of scholarship." David F. Good, Journal of Modern History