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This paper presents estimates of regional GDP per capita for certain benchmark years during the first half of the twentieth century using the method proposed by Geary and Stark. After testing the robustness of the Geary and Stark methodology for the Belgian situation, these estimates are linked to the official regional GDP figures, available since 1955. so that we can cover the whole of the twentieth century. Next we test the suggestion put forward by many historians of a contrast between a 'poor Flanders' and a relatively 'prosperous Wallonia' around 1900. For the remainder of the analysis Belgium's nine provinces are used as a geographical unit to take a broader view than just the Flanders/Wallonia controversy. The analysis shows a dramatic reversal of fortune between the northern and southern provinces. We explain the main causes of this process and assess the effect of state policies on regional development. Finally, the paper considers whether the twentieth century witnessed a process of convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the long-term relationship between financial market development and economic development in Belgium. We use a new data set of stock market development indicators to argue that financial market development substantially affected economic growth. We find strong evidence that stock market development caused economic growth in Belgium, especially in the period between 1873 and 1935. Institutional changes affecting the stock exchange explain the time-varying nature of the link between stock market development and economic growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]