The period from 1870 to 1913 coincided with the second phase of the Industrial Revolution and with the steady rise of investments in the outer rim of Europe. In this context, the improvement in communications and in the credit system were expected to improve the competitiveness of the Macedonian economy, whose potential was indisputable. However, a variety of factors were radically to change the course of events.
The rise in industrial production, which had been considerable even before the Balkan Wars, was the result mainly of the society's new buying power and modernization (it was able to absorb more and more imported goods), and to a smaller extent of the improved competitiveness of local products.
The commercialization of agriculture and the more systematic mining were of only limited and seasonal impact. Finally, liquidity remained dependent mainly on retail business and remittances sent from successful emigrants abroad, while the capital earmarked for nationalistic propaganda was of secondary importance.
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