This new transnational survey explores the regional differences which shaped the economic trajectory of European nations. Presenting a clear explanation of the historical causes of advancement and backwardness, Ivan Berend integrates social, political, institutional and cultural factors, engaging in debates about the relative roles of knowledge, the state and institutions.

Introduction; Part I. Gradual Revolution: 1. From merchant to industrial capitalism in Northwestern Europe; Part II. Successful Industrial Transformation of the West: 2. Knowledge and the entrepreneurial state; 3. Agriculture, transportation, and communication; 4. The organisation of business and finance; 5. Three versions of successful industrialization; 6. The miracle of knowledge and the state: Scandinavia; 7. Demographic revolution, transformation of life and standard of living; 8. The Europeanization of Europe; Part III. The Peripheries: Semi-Success or Failure of Modern Transformation: 9. The 'sleeping' peripheries, traditional institutions and values; 10. The Western sparks that ignite modernization; 11. Advantage from dependence: Central Europe, the Baltic Area, Finland and Ireland; 12. Profiting from foreign interests: the Mediterranean and Russia; 13. The predator Leviathan in peasant societies: the Balkans and the borderlands of Austria-Hungary; Epilogue: economic disparity - and alternative postwar economic regimes; References.

'A masterful survey that puts the history back in economic history. It will make an outstanding textbook for undergraduate courses in nineteenth-century European economic history.' George Grantham, McGill University'After his masterful [An] Economic History of Twentieth-Century Europe, Ivan Berend gives us the indispensable companion volume on the nineteenth century, another masterpiece in comparative economic history. Few scholars can rival Berend's deep knowledge of the multifarious European economies, their mutual interaction and slow integration, as well as the complex links between the economy and the cultural, social and political developments that make Europe so complex and unique. This is a 'must read' book for students and the general educated public alike.' Gianni Toniolo, Duke University and Libera Universita degli Studi Sociali, Roma'Professor Berend's knowledge of European comparative economic history is unparalleled, and he here offers a wide-ranging and deep analysis of that subject, illuminating the crucial issue of uneven continental development in the long nineteenth century. Combining an impressive variety of analytical frameworks and approaches, his study fills an important gap with confidence and persuasive insight.' Barry Supple, University of Cambridge'Writing [a] new economic history of Europe from a regional perspective is a very ambitious project and an increasingly difficult task for a single individual. I can only praise and admire Professor Berend for his ambition, erudition, and courage. The coverage of multiple dimensions, economic, social and cultural, of economic disparities during nineteenth-century industrialisation in Europe is really impressive.' Leandro Prados de la Escosura, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid