It is more complicated, of course, but this sort of gross and unfair generalization does succinctly capture what has happened as well as, or better than, some of the more sophisticated comparative theory models out there. An alternate description would state more politically-correct that Central Europe is doing pretty well, especially Poland. By contrast, the Balkans, including Romania, are doing quite poorly, except for Catholic Slovenia. Croatia, now that it is at peace and former President Franjo Tudjman has been replaced by more pro-Western leaders, shows prospects for recovery, but Serbia is hopeless. Albania is a disaster.
Economic statistics vary from year to year, and there are seeming anomalies.
The Czech Republic, for example, once a leader in reforms, is now performing relatively poorly. But to go from Prague and Brno to Bucharest is to go from one world to another. All statistics about direct foreign investment, about consumption patterns, or about quality of life show that indeed, Catholic and Protestant central Europe is far better off than the Orthodox and Muslim East and South. Revisiting the situation in the pre-communist era demonstrates that the gap already existed. It may date back to the Middle Ages , when, in addition to the lack of Ottoman Turkish domination, parts of Central Europe adopted the moldboard plow and the three field system, while the east and south did not.