A missed opportunity? European economic integration between 1850 and 1914

This article claims that the European path towards economic integration in the 60 years before the First World War was a missed opportunity. To a large extent, Europe was a deeply integrated market since goods, people and capital were able to move quite freely. Yet, as the 1873 crisis set in, most countries reacted by introducing higher protection and forming cartels. A more economically integrated Europe was premature in historical and politica terms