Paul Sharp
DKK 5.4 million
DFF
Conflict and Development
The homogeneous and peaceful population of Denmark is often contrasted with the heterogeneity and conflict of Ireland, and this project will use these cases to investigate the role of conflict for economic development. First, we will take up the ‘Creamery War’ in Denmark around the turn of the twentieth century, which pitted Grundtvigians against the ‘Inner Mission’ movement. Both sides established rival creameries, with potentially catastrophic effects on productivity and macrolevel development in the areas affected, both of which we will quantify. Second, we turn to the US where the Inner Mission gained a large following among Danish immigrants. They argued for assimilation into American society, and we will study the role of this for the rapid integration and economic success of Danes. Finally, we will argue that introducing rival cooperative creameries to an environment dominated by large private operators led to conflict and exacerbated the already poor social capital in Ireland.