How Similar to South-Eastern Europe were the Islands of Cyprus and Malta?
The islands of Cyprus and Malta have always been considered in economic history as similar to other South-Eastern European states, despite the lack of substantial evidence to prove it. This paper uses new evidence of the gross domestic product of the islands during the interwar period to evaluate that the economic structure of the islands was quite different from each other, as well as from other South-Eastern European states. The paper is part of an ongoing process of estimating the GDP of Cyprus and Malta for the interwar period. The output of the primary sector (1921 – 1938) indicated that the islands were not keeping up to other Southern-European States in terms of agricultural production. The islands’ agricultural sectors had different growth trajectories: the 1920s was a period of stable growth for Malta, and the depression was prolonged yet not too severe. In Cyprus recovery in the 1920s after the 1921 recession was uneven and the depression was especially severe; agricultural o
