Understanding Economic and Social Developments in the Periphery: Bulgarian National Income 1892–1924

2008 ◽  
Vol 34-35 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 219-244
Author(s):  
Martin Ivanov

This article aims at a reconstruction of reliable estimates of Bulgarian GNP growth. The main methodological point of reference is a work published in the 1940s by a contemporary Bulgarian economist, Asen Chakalov. Given the sophistication of Chakalov’s estimates and the desirability of chaining new data onto his estimate for 1924, the article’s methodology consists in the first instance in replicating his figure for 1924 on the basis of original sources and then using these same sources to create a series of properly documented estimates for the years between 1892 and 1924. To provide a meaningful comparison over the long run between 1892 and 1945, we must allow for price changes, population change, and the impact of territorial redistribution in the course of the Balkan Wars and World War I. The results are striking. For 1924 a reassuring match with Chakalov’s estimate is achieved. The new GNP series indicates that the Bulgarian economy did not achieve staggering results during the period in review—an average of 0.93% on a yearly basis. True, there were sub-periods in which the GNP was growing a bit faster (2.76% between 1899 and 1905, and 2.16% during 1905-1911); however, this is both a misleading (due to the low base of the crisis of 1899) and an unsustainable conclusion. Inserting the population factor into the picture makes the situation even more dismal. In per capita terms Bulgaria achieved a negative growth rate of –0.32% annually. The economy fell behind the population increase, which turned out to be a serious obstacle for switching over to a higher gear.

2021 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-568
Author(s):  
Johann Strauss

This article examines the functions and the significance of picture postcards during World War I, with particular reference to the war in the Ottoman Lands and the Balkans, or involving the Turkish Army in Galicia. After the principal types of Kriegspostkarten – sentimental, humorous, propaganda, and artistic postcards (Künstlerpostkarten) – have been presented, the different theatres of war (Balkans, Galicia, Middle East) and their characteristic features as they are reflected on postcards are dealt with. The piece also includes aspects such as the influence of Orientalism, the problem of fake views, and the significance and the impact of photographic postcards, portraits, and photo cards. The role of postcards in book illustrations is demonstrated using a typical example (F. C. Endres, Die Türkei (1916)). The specific features of a collection of postcards left by a German soldier who served in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq during World War I will be presented at the end of this article.


1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic S. Lee

In recent years we have witnessed a revival of interest in the National Resources Committee (NRC) and its work on national planning. The research shows that the roots of national planning at the NRC are found in the Progressive Era, when individuals sought, through city, regional, and economic planning, to bring order to American society, in the government's management of the economy during World War I, and in Hoover's attempt at macromanagement of the economy. The research also shows that national economic planning, as distinct from other forms of planning, was an important component of the committee's work. In regard to this, researchers have acknowledged that Gardiner Means, as director of the Industrial Section of the Industrial Committee and author of The Structure of the American Economy, Part I: Basic Characteristics, was an important and outspoken advocate of economic planning within the NRC, but they have been less clear as to his specific contributions to economic planning. Moreover, the researchers have not extensively investigated the NRC position toward national economic planning, the economic models from which national economic plans would be developed, and the impact of the Keynesian revolution on the NRC approach to national economic planning. These omissions are not surprising inasmuch as neither Warken's (1979) nor Clawson's (1981) general coverage of the NRC provided much more than a brief and superficial description of the Industrial Section and a listing of its most important publications. Kalish (1963), on the other hand, discussed Means and the Industrial Section in more depth but in such a disjointed manner that it is impossible to grasp the movement toward economic planning that took place in the NRC and the important role Means played in the process. Finally, neither Chapman's (1981 and 1983) nor Jeffries's (1987) discussions of the impact of the Keynesian revolution on the activities of the NRC dealt specifically with its impact on Means's work on economic planning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2 (176)) ◽  
pp. 227-245
Author(s):  
Anna Reczyńska

Polish Issues in Canada During World War I The article presents the impact of World War I on Polish immigrants in Canada, the position of the Polish ethnic group in this country and the efforts of persons of Polish descent in regard to recruitment for the Polish Army in North America. Poles, who were subjects of Germany or the Austro-Hungarian Empire were treated as enemy aliens. Those people were forced to register and report to the police on a regular basis and some of them were interned in labour camps during the war. Some were released from the camps after an intervention of Polish organizations and priests. Soldiers of Polish descent, volunteers and recruits also fought in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Over 20,000 Polish volunteers from the US (including over 200 from Canada) enrolled in a training camp formed in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario on the border with the US. The problems with the organization and functioning of the camp, and opinions on Polish volunteers shaped the attitude of many Canadians towards the Polish diaspora and the newly established Polish state. Keywords: World War I, Polish Diaspora in Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake camp, Haller’s Army, Colonel Arthur D’Orr LePan Streszczenie Artykuł przedstawia kilka przykładów obrazujących oddziaływanie wydarzeń I wojny światowej na żyjących w Kanadzie polskich imigrantów, pozycję polskiej grupy etnicznej w tym kraju oraz na aktywność osób polskiego pochodzenia na rzecz rekrutacji do wojska polskiego w Ameryce Północnej. Polaków, którzy byli poddanymi Niemiec lub monarchii austro-wegierskiej traktowano jak przedstawicieli państw wrogich. Mieli obowiązek rejestracji i regularnego zgłaszania się na policję a niektórzy zostali internowani w stworzonych w czasie wojny obozach pracy. Część z nich była z tych obozów zwolniona po interwencji polskich organizacji i polskich duchownych. Żołnierze polskiego pochodzenia, zarówno ochotnicy jak i poborowi, znaleźli się także w oddziałach Kanadyjskich Sił Ekspedycyjnych walczących w Europie. Ponad 20 tys. polskich ochotników z USA (w tym ponad 200 z Kanady) zgłosiło się też do obozu szkoleniowego utworzonego w Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, przy granicy z USA. Problemy z organizacją i funkcjonowaniem tego obozu oraz opinie o polskich ochotnikach, kształtowały nastawienie wielu Kanadyjczyków do polskiej grupy etnicznej i nowotworzonego Państwa Polskiego.


STORIA URBANA ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 21-48
Author(s):  
Banales José Luis Onyňn

- The article focuses on the relationship between tramway networks and urban structure in Spain during the period 1900-1936. It states that this relationship should be studied after considering the use of transport and the mobility patterns of different classes, specially the working class. Once these factors have been studied it is possible to assert the impact of the tramway netmark on urban growth. The impact of the tramways on major Spanish cities did not take the form of a transport revolution that would radically changed the urban pattern. Tramways did not direct urban growth until use of tramway lines by the working class became general. This did not happen until World War I. Since then, skilled and some unskilled workers did change their mobility patterns and tramway use experienced a cycle of growth that continued until the late 1950s.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document