ABSTRACT
The scholarly literature tends to present a fairly somber portrayal of the economic conditions in East-Central Europe, including Hungary, during the interwar period. The dominant interpretation suggests that the Great Depression hit East-Central and Southeast Europe particularly hard because of their specific structural economic problems. 1 According to these views, the economic development and the overall progression of the crisis in Hungary during the interwar period differed little from this general narrative. What may have distinguished the Hungarian case were the impacts of the comprehensive border changes implemented after the Treaty of Trianon and the dissolution of the economic unity of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. These factors only served to make the country’s return to its previous growth trajectory that much more challenging. 2
