These are the countries that are in Eastern Europe: Russia (Partly in Asia). Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? You have been on the Caltech faculty for more than 30 years. I feel like its a lifeline. 2.Standard of living in Britain was usually poor, Probably OP refers the wealth of the States, not the standard of living of the population (e.g. What explains this reluctance to reintroduce restrictions? Long-run growth matters. the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey (western-most part). The impact of modernization and individualization can be clearly seen in the lifestyles of people. 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. Albanian forms its own branch of the Indo-European language family. When its easier to travel and grow food, its easier to sell the food at a greater. Nationalism, therefore, was an important element in the culture of Eastern Europe for a long time, sometimes leading to major wars. Some argued that this was because of economics: that eastern European countries locked down early because they feared their economies would not be able to handle many people getting sick. And I mean apocalyptic. Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. Others suggested this eastern European exceptionalism could be explained by culture, with success in limiting the first wave being down to a mentality of fear and readiness to follow harsh rules stemming from the communist era. 50 Mississippi. Between these two regions, a myriad of differences can be viewed regarding the geographical location, culture, economy, etc. People speak languages with Slavic roots. Explore Eastern Europe. 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! Also, the people follow many religions such as Orthodox Christianityand also Islam. The former East Germany trails the former West in productivity. None of this suggests that policy in America is ideal (it isnt) or that European nations are failures (they still rank among the wealthiest places on the planet). 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. The highest point in Eastern Europe is Mount Elbrus, which stands at 5642 meters high. By introducing very strict prevention measures early on, countries in the region had significantly fewer COVID-related deaths than their western European counterparts. At least if the goal is more economic output and higher living standards. Higher Percentage: Theres a higher percentage of people living in poverty in eastern Europe than there is in western Europe.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'questionscity_com-leader-1','ezslot_3',116,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-leader-1-0'); Unemployment Rate: Unemployment rates are much higher in eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is 'poorer' than Western Europe, during the war they were helpless and were taken over by Germany or the Soviets, with the fall of both empires countries taken by Hitler. The difference is so stark that Eastern Europe is sometime not even counted as "Western Civilization." Communism explains some of it more recently, but it doesn't explain why it was also true in the medieval and ancient times. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Were Gaining Vitality on Key Measures, 60% of Americans Would Be Uncomfortable With Provider Relying on AI in Their Own Health Care, Gender pay gap in U.S. hasnt changed much in two decades. In eastern European cultures, there is an emphasis on family and community life. When examining the culture and society of the countries of Eastern Europe, a clear difference can be seen in family structures. Cultural Syncretism Definition & Examples | What is Religious Syncretism? 7. Max Weber Fellow in Social and Political Sciences, European University Institute. It shows that in between the two waves, the east relaxed its measures further than the west, and was then less eager in reimposing them. 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. 6. Western Europe has l. Hello and welcome to our channel. If, for some reason, somebody was holding a gun to my head and demanding that we copy the policies of a nation from the European Union,the Nordic countries would be among my top choices. >Eastern European men >Like seriously, they are so formal, handsome, and respectful.. The tendency to ignore Eastern Europe in favour of Western Europe is a holdover from the Cold War. There are many stereotypes about Eastern Europeans, however, these stereotypes do not always apply to all Eastern European people due to differing cultures within the region itself. The Eastern European area bore the brunt of the Asian invasions too as first the Huns, then Avars, Slavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Mongols, and Turks all swept into the Balkans, Carpathian Basin, and the lands between the Black and Baltic seas each time wiping out native political powers. 10. Bohemia (Czech lands) was one of the biggest and most developed economic centers of the Holy Roman Empire. Importantly, however, there have been major differences within eastern Europe too. Judaism - Eastern European Jews once numbered in the millions; however, they were nearly wiped out during the Holocaust. 3. After the sack of Constantinople in 1204, however, the eastern economy was permanently disrupted, and wealth began to shift westward. The reformation gave way to more literacy, the Protestant work ethic, which resulted in rapid advances in the sciences and technology. 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. 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. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The most widely-spoken Slavic language is Russian. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. succeed. 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. There have been many periods where the Polish/Baltic/Ukraine/Belarus area was very wealthy. Required fields are marked *. Of course being in the soviet bloc wouldnt help either.Ive seen pictures of Prague and warsaw before the war and they seemed pretty prosperous. In either event, the people of Romania and Moldova are closely related. This One Major Factor Makes Germany Richer Than Italy. 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. The four major religions in Eastern Europe are the Eastern Orthodox faith, Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. Transport, accommodation and food tend to take a smaller bite out of your wallet, without compromising on history, culture, and experience. Example: Some people do not consider Russia to be part of Europe. Also Austria and Hungary drained ressources from the other areas (Bohemia being one of the few parts that was actually rather well off with a lot of industry). I wrote previouslythat many European nations are doomed bydemographics tofiscal chaos, but a lot of people dont care that much about the future. Hoffman's work is published in a new book titled Why Did Europe Conquer the World? The climate varies greatly from country to country because it encompasses such a large area of land for an area thats not very populated which leads to different types of vegetation across the region. Its fascinating how different these two worlds are, but it also shows us that we should not be afraid to embrace our unique qualities as individuals or communities if they lead to sustainable growth and innovationsomething both regions could stand for! Tamara Popic and Alexandru D Moise do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointments. 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. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Cheap travel Eastern Europe can be significantly less expensive than Western Europe. Excellent point. In 1991, per-capita productivity in the former East was less than half (43%) of productivity in the former West. 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. Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. Here is an Eastern Europe religion map that depicts the split of Christianity after the Great Schism of 1054. Before that point, Western and Eastern Europe were relatively similar in prosperity. Eastern Europe has a total population of about 258 million people. Per-capita gross domestic product was 32,108 in the former East German states in 2018, compared with 42,971 in the former West German states. Ukraine was the home and originator of "Rus" civilization pre-Mongol conquest with Kiev being a strong city when Moscow was a backwater. Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language that is distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. I'm thinking the USSR isn't the reason why the non-Balkan east is poor, so from a wider historical perspective, what's the real reason? Despite this, the Soviet Union did play an important role in the regions history. Great work Dr. Sowell. The spending on war gave leaders a chance to try out new weapons, new armed ships, and new tactics, and to learn from mistakes on the battlefield. 1. 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. Lets get back to whether people in places such as Denmark (or anywhere else in Europe) enjoy more prosperity than their American counterparts. | Thomas Sowell. Stringency of COVID-19 control measures in eastern and western Europe. Yellow areas poorer than Mexico. In other words, the few dark areas (a handful in Germany and one each in a few other nations) are the only parts of Europe that are economically equal or better thanthe United States. It's a sign of American prosperity that we can afford to buy more from other nations than they can afford to buy from us. 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. Cases and deaths have not been spread evenly across the region. I received my bachelor's degree in history from George Washington University and later earned a master's degree in the same subject from Uppsala University in Sweden. The 2018 version of the report is available here in English. That being said, Ireland and the United Kingdom have the most economic freedom among EU nations, andSwitzerland would be at the top if the choice was broadened to non-EU nations in Europe. I've looked at changes in technology that influence agriculture, and I've studied the development of financial markets, and in between those two, I was also studying why financial crises occur. 8. Just take any economic, social map and overlay it with the iron curtain map and you will understand what it's actually about. When we turn to the second wave (starting around September and ongoing), were faced with the opposite question: why did eastern European countries not act in spite of rapidly rising infections and deaths? In this video, we will explore the reasons behind the economic gap between Western and Eastern Europe. It is followed by a brief description of the four major religions in the region. The rest of Europe at that time was really no wealthier than China, the Middle East, or South Asia. Eastern Europe is a term that typically refers to the countries in Eastern and Central Europe, which includes Russia. 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). On average, Eastern Europeans live longer than western Europeans because they smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less alcohol on average. It was politically weak, it was poor, and the major long-distance commerce was a slave trade led by Vikings. Being dominated for centuries has led to lingering inequality and long-lasting effects in many formerly colonized countries, including poverty and slow economic growth. 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. QuotidianPain 2 yr. ago I don't think Atlantic trade is the sole reason though. Their situation relative to Western Europe has not become better 70 years after WWII. Fox News' Tucker Carlson asks what Attorney General Merrick Garland is doing in Ukraine, and wonders why no one cares about what happened to the Nordstream pipeline. Then you can bargain with your enemies to divvy up whatever you disagree about and you can have something like peace. So more spending would not only mean greater odds of victory over an enemy, but more rapid change in military technology. There's a brain drain. However, if we look back at the death rates of the two regions in the graph above, its clear that eastern European countries introduced restrictions when experiencing far fewer cases and deaths. If you think about it, you realize that advancements in gunpowder technologywhich are important for conquestarise where political leaders fight using that technology, where they spend huge sums on it, and where they're able to share the resulting advances in that technology. By comparison, disposable income in the former West Germany was 23,283 a year, or about $26,300. For example, how did states get the ability to impose heavy taxes? You can refer to the lesson, but try to recall as many from memory as you can. Additionally, some definitions include Greece as part of Eastern Europe, while others maintain that Greece is, in fact, part of Southern Europe. Paris was this little walled fortress town, and Constantinople was so large it needed its own governor. Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that lists and provides statistics for the religions of Eastern Europe. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page..