East of Eden: The place of Poland in The Little Divergence debate

Abstract

Why are some countries rich whereas others remain poor? What are the origins of the exemplary economic development of North-Western Europe that remains one of the most prosperous regions of the world and why are so many countries unable to embark on a similar growth trajectory? Discussions about the timing and the explanations of the onset of the distinctive economic growth of England and the Netherlands and the reasons behind the underdevelopment of the less successful countries within Europe are known as the Little Divergence debate. Malinowski’s research brings Poland into the debate. It shows that standards of living in Poland were already lower than that in England and the Netherlands by the 15th century. There was a significant increase in income levels in Poland in the 16th century. However, the growth was not sufficient to close the income gap entirely. The period of economic expansion was followed by a crisis. The dissimilarity in income levels grew again in the 17th and the 18th century as a result of a contraction of the Polish economy on the one hand, and continuous growth of the North-Western economies on the other. Malinowski focuses on the factors that contributed to the crisis that occurred in Poland in the 17th century. He challenges the conventional knowledge that the crisis was brought about by serfdom – the landmark institution regulating social relations in the country. Malinowski shows that there was a market crisis in the 17th century and proposes that it, rather than serfdom, brought about the economic demise of the country. According to the author, serfdom might have had a relatively beneficial effect on urban growth during the market crisis. This is because, the higher duties charged to the serfs could have fostered commercialization of agricultural production that, otherwise, would not have found its way to a market. Malinowski puts forward empirical support for this idea with use of a new dataset on urban settlements and market conditions in early modern Poland. He identifies a positive effect of the interaction between unconstrained legal jurisdiction over peasantry and market disintegration on urban population growth.