This volume documents the economic integration of the European economy over the period 1850-1913. The authors argue that by 1913 the national economies of Western and Central Europe were so sufficiently integrated in most important aspects that one could refer to as composing a 'European economy' for all practical purposes. The study concentrates on the macroeconomic aspects of this integration, although from time to time it digresses into microeconomic topics, as the situation requires.

By 'macroeconomic aspects' the authors refer both to the nature of the data that they consider and to the econometric tests that they apply to these data. In particular, they focus on measures of aggregate output and monetary aggregates as they relate to policy concerns, such as those surrounding the implementation of the gold standard, as well as the possible interaction of nominal and real factors in both growth and cycles.

They also date the 'European' cycle and show a close coincidence across nations.