GDP per capita in Europe, 1300-1850

Estimates of GDP per capita for up to 8 European countries (Belgium, Germany, GB/UK, Italy, Netherlands, Ottoman Turkey, Spain, and Sweden) from c.1300 to 1820/1850 AD are summarised and compared. The 2003 estimates by Maddison are contrasted with the more recent estimates for individual countries presented in this session, which argue for slower growth from a higher starting base. It is suggested that the relatively high per capita GDP of much of north-western Europe by c.1300 may have been due to high value added by the region's mixed agriculture