We examine spatial convergence in biological well-being in the
Habsburg Monarchy, circa 1890-1910, on the basis of evidence of the
physical stature of 21-year-old military recruits, disaggregated into 15
Districts. We find that the shorter the population in 1890, the faster
its height grew thereafter. Hence, there was convergence in physical
stature between the peripheral areas of the monarchy (located in today’s
Poland/Ukraine, Romania, and Slovakia) and its core (located
in today’s Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary). The difference
in trends between the trend in height in the Polish District of Przemysl
and in Vienna was about 0.9 cm per decade, in favor of the former.
Convergence among the core Districts themselves was minimal or
non-existent, whereas the convergence among the peripheral Districts
was more pronounced. Spatial convergence also took place between
the peripheral regions and the more developed ones. The pattern is
somewhat reminiscent of modern findings on convergence clubs in the
global economy.