Economic History of Eastern Europe. A Forum

Abstract

Invited experts who study and teach economic history in American, Romanian, Swedish, and Ukrainian universities answer questions about the recent trends and perspectives in the economic history of Eastern Europe. They demonstrate how the relationship between history and other disciplines developed in Eastern European scholarship. They explain the reasons for the relatively underdeveloped scholarly community of the field in the region. Finally, they talk about the applicable theories and concepts which could challenge Gerschenkron’s theoretical framework when discussing the history of economy and business in Eastern Europe. Authors mostly accept the suggested statement that the economic history of Eastern Europe is institutionally underdeveloped if compared with Western scholarship. At the same time, they see the situation as a good opportunity for the development of new research projects. The authors emphasize the necessity to “learn the language of other disciplines” as well as to develop skills in data analysis. They also point out that to explain the global economic transformations in history, working with archival sources and understanding the context are as important as the application of economic theories and quantitative analysis.