Is the European Union More Unequal Than the Habsburg Empire?

This study examines regional inequality among Habsburg regions from the 19th century to today’s EU by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to recreate historical regions in present-day projections. The findings suggests that regional disparities are markedly higher today than in the 19th century, despite rapid convergence in the past two decades. The study thus provides evidence of retrospective determinism in the study of the Habsburg economy and suggests that, although regional EU policy has been successful over the past two decades, further policy measures are needed to make up lost ground. For the 1867–1913 timeframe, the study finds two regional convergence clubs. Over the entire 1870–2018 period under review, the study finds no evidence of convergence.

Link: Is the European Union More Unequal Than the Habsburg Empire? Examining Regional Inequalities in Habsburg Regions From 1870 to 2018