& Tornado Alley
The German portion of Austria was not notably behind the other German states at the beginning of the nineteenth century. There were non-German area of Austria that were backward in terms of literacy and commercialization such as the Dalmatian coast of Austria. And, of course, Austria was political united through the Habsburg Empire with Hungary, which was economically backward.
Despite being on par with the other German states and with France at the beginning of the nineteenth century Austria was considerably outdistanced by Germany and France during the nineteenth century because these latter area, especially Germany, accelerated their economic development. Some the major factors that accounted for the Austrian somnambulance were:
Austria did progress economically during the nineteenth century but not at a pace sufficient to keep up with the German states within the Zollverein (Custom Union), which Austria was excluded from because of its protectionist trade policy.
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