Five Centuries of Regional Development in Northwest Germany and the Netherlands

Germany and the Netherlands have developed very differently over the centuries. A closeexamination of Dutch and German regions show the differentiated way in which regions profitfrom the changing developmental opportunities of the world-system. This article studies long-term regional development using regional urban population in the Netherlands and NorthwestGermany. Initially the coastal regions profited from the emerging trade based agricultural world-system. Later on, state formation enabled some of the previously developed regions to regaintheir position. Industrialization concentrated the... Mehr ...