Denmarkisation and agricultural growth in the Baltic countries during the interwar period

Zenonas Norkus, Jurgita Markevičiūtė and Aelita Ambrulevičiūtė

Scandinavian Economic History Review, 2025, vol. 73, issue 3, 231-250

Abstract: ‘Denmarkisation’ was a policy intended for the economic modernisation of underdeveloped agrarian countries by emulating the success story of Denmark in 1870–1914. Denmark’s example attracted the newly established independent Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (1918–1940) owing to their belonging to the same region as well as having similar sizes and natural endowments. In Lithuania, the most influential proponent of ‘Denmarkisation’ was Jonas Aleksa, Minister of Agriculture in 1920–1923 and 1926–1935. According to his ‘Denmarkisation’ timetable, his country had to catch up with Denmark as an agricultural producer and food exporter by 1945–1950. We argue that the food self-sufficiency ratio (FSSR) can serve as a proxy for a ‘Denmarkisation index’ and use it to measure the success of the Baltic ‘Denmarkisation’. In 1938, the FSSR for Denmark was 1.90, and those for Baltic countries were 1.16 (Latvia), 1.21 (Estonia), and 1.28 (Lithuania). The main obstacles to more rapid progress were the changes in the terms of international trade, disfavouring food exporters, stagnating productivity of the production of fodder crops, the Baltic turn to autarky in the economic policies in the 1930s and the diversion of producers from their comparative advantages in the animal husbandry.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/03585522.2025.2466516

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