Alexander Gerschenkron and Late Industrialization

• In Event: Interdisciplinary History I: The Russian Empire

Abstract

New data collection efforts in the past decade have shed new light on Alexander Gerschenkron’s theory of “relative backwardness.” In this paper, I provide a formulation of Gerschenkron’s theory in the form of testable and untestable hypotheses. Then, I take stock of recent studies investigating financial dependence, state intervention, industrialization, and economic growth in countries that industrialized relatively late.

Author

• Amanda Gregg, Middlebury College