Shock therapy and the transfer of institutions: the new debate and some lessons from the post-1806 reforms in Prussia and in southwestern Germany

• Published in: Constitutional political economy 2011-06, Vol.22 (2), p.122-140
• Main Author: Zweynert, Joachim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 19th century; B 52; Case studies; Civil society; Constitution; Constitutional Law; Constitutions; Developing Countries; Economic Change; Economic decline; Economic reform; Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods; Europe; Federal Republic of Germany; French Revolution; Germany; Institutions; N 43; Open access; Original Research; Political behavior; Political economy; Political Science; Political Science and International Relations; Political Science and International Studies; Prussia; Reform; Revolutions; Social Change; Southwestern Germanies; Studies; Transfer of institutions; Transplants & implants; Violence
• ISSN: 1043-4062; 1572-9966
• DOI: 10.1007/s10602-010-9095-3

There is a new debate on shock therapy versus gradualism in economics, this time referring to developing and emerging countries. The French Revolution and its impact on the other European nations has repeatedly been highlighted as a historical example for both the merits and pitfalls of the Big Bang strategy. The present paper argues that a comparison between the post-1806 reforms in Prussia and in the southwestern states of Germany offers a particularly interesting historical case study that in the economics literature has not yet received the attention it deserves. In particular, the case study shows how deeply intertwined the economic and political dimension of social transformations are, and that different economic reforms strategies cannot and should not be evaluated without taking political starting conditions into account. In view of recent reform experiences it is particularly interesting to see that Prussia offers maybe the first historical case of state capture by the East-Elbian Junkers .