Denmarkisation and agricultural growth in the Baltic countries during the interwar period
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20379942 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zenonas Norkus (0000-0001-6364-0716, Vilnius University), Jurgita Markevičiūtė (0000-0002-9653-7798, Vilnius University, corresponding author), Aelita Ambrulevičiūtė (0009-0006-3519-568X, Vilnius University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 231-250 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scandinavian Economic History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0358-5522 • E-ISSN: 1750-2837 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03585522.2025.2466516 |
| OpenAlex | W4408096038 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 26 |
‘Denmarkisation’ was a policy intended for the economic modernisation of underdeveloped agrarian countries by emulating the success story of Denmark in 1870–1914. Denmark’s example attracted the newly established independent Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (1918–1940) owing to their belonging to the same region as well as having similar sizes and natural endowments. In Lithuania, the most influential proponent of ‘Denmarkisation’ was Jonas Aleksa, Minister of Agriculture in 1920–1923 and 1926–1935. According to his ‘Denmarkisation’ timetable, his country had to catch up with Denmark as an agricultural producer and food exporter by 1945–1950. We argue that the food self-sufficiency ratio (FSSR) can serve as a proxy for a ‘Denmarkisation index’ and use it to measure the success of the Baltic ‘Denmarkisation’. In 1938, the FSSR for Denmark was 1.90, and those for Baltic countries were 1.16 (Latvia), 1.21 (Estonia), and 1.28 (Lithuania). The main obstacles to more rapid progress were the changes in the terms of international trade, disfavouring food exporters, stagnating productivity of the production of fodder crops, the Baltic turn to autarky in the economic policies in the 1930s and the diversion of producers from their comparative advantages in the animal husbandry
Agriculture · Archaeology · Art · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Geography · Interwar period · World War II · Economic Growth and Productivity · Russia and Soviet political economy
New estimation of the gross domestic product in Baltic countries in 1913–1938
Reinventing perished “Belgium of the East”
Domestic markets and international integration
Reinterpretation of economic history in the Baltic countries, 30 years after independence
The impact of the great emigration on the Swedish economy
Lithuanian economy, 1919–1940
Implementation of non-tariff measures in Estonia in the 1930s
Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour
Food self-sufficiency
The European experience
The D anish agricultural revolution in an energy perspective
What Have We Learned about the Resource Curse
Die Osteuropaischen Staaten
Revising growth history
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |