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Economic Crises And The European Revolutions Of 1848

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  • Berger, Helge
  • Spoerer, Mark

Abstract

Recent historical research tends to view the 1848 revolutions in Europe as caused by a surge of radical ideas and by long-term socioeconomic problems. However, many contemporary observers interpreted much of the upheaval as a consequence of short-term economic causes, specifically the serious shortfall in food supply that had shaken large parts of the Continent in 1845–1847, and the subsequent industrial slump. Applying standard quantitative methods to a data set of 27 European countries, we show that it was mainly immediate economic misery, and the fear thereof, that triggered the European revolutions of 1848.

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  • Berger, Helge & Spoerer, Mark, 2001. "Economic Crises And The European Revolutions Of 1848," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(2), pages 293-326, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:61:y:2001:i:02:p:293-326_02
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    3. Aidt, Toke S. & Jensen, Peter S., 2014. "Workers of the world, unite! Franchise extensions and the threat of revolution in Europe, 1820–1938," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 52-75.
    4. Sarferaz, Samad & Uebele, Martin, 2009. "Tracking down the business cycle: A dynamic factor model for Germany 1820-1913," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 368-387, July.
    5. Rabah Arezki & Markus Brückner, 2011. "Food Prices and Political Instability," CESifo Working Paper Series 3544, CESifo.
    6. Quoc-Anh Do & Filipe R. Campante, 2009. "Keeping Dictators Honest: the Role of Population Concentration," Working Papers 01-2009, Singapore Management University, School of Economics.
    7. Markus Brückner & Antonio Ciccone, 2011. "Rain and the Democratic Window of Opportunity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(3), pages 923-947, May.
    8. Maria Waldinger, 2023. "“Let Them Eat Cake”: Drought, Peasant Uprisings, and Demand for Institutional Change in the French Revolution," CESifo Working Paper Series 10303, CESifo.
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    11. Carlos Bastien, 2011. "1848: A Primeira Crise da Teoria Económica," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 34, pages 57-66, December.
    12. Vidal-Robert, Jordi, 2013. "War and Inquisition: Repression in Early Modern Spain," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 119, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    13. Ticku, R. & Shrivastava, A. & Iyer, S., 2018. "Economic Shocks and Temple Desecrations in Medieval India," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1862, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    14. Mark Dincecco, 2010. "The Political Economy Of Fiscal Prudence In Historical Perspective," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-36, March.
    15. George Tridimas, 2014. "Why some democracies are headed by a monarch?," ICER Working Papers 07-2014, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    16. Bengtsson, Erik, 2016. "Inequality and the working class in Scandinavia 1800 to 1910 - Workers' share of growing income," Lund Papers in Economic History 142, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    17. Bittencourt, Manoel & Gupta, Rangan & Makena, Philton & Stander, Lardo, 2022. "Socio-political instability and growth dynamics," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    18. Maria Waldinger, 2024. "“Let them eat cake”: drought, peasant uprisings, and demand for institutional change in the French Revolution," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 41-77, March.
    19. Baten, Joerg & Mumme, Christina, 2013. "Does inequality lead to civil wars? A global long-term study using anthropometric indicators (1816–1999)," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 56-79.
    20. Amaury de Vicqde & Christiaan van Bochove, 2024. "Lending a hand: help banks in the Netherlands, 1848–1898," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 28(2), pages 163-192.
    21. Quoc-Anh Doy & Filipe R. Campante, 2009. "Keeping Dictators Honest : the Role of Population Concentration," Governance Working Papers 22076, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
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