1906-1914 (The Liberal Crisis)- Economic (The State of the Economy) Flashcards
Why was it so hard to work how the state of Britain’s economy?
Because no stats, like GDP, existed
Name Britain’s 4 staple industries?
Textiles, coal mining, ship building, steel
In 1913, what % of Britain’s exports came from its staple industries?
60%
Name the 2 main competitors to Britain’s industry?
Germany and USA
Give 4 reasons why people were still optimistic about Britain’s staples?
- Biggest shipbuilder in the world- 50% of worlds ships made in GB pre-1914
- Harsh to compare to Ger/USA- they had much more natural resource and a bigger home market
- Coal was still very profitable
- Still a leading exporter in textiles
What were the 3 most prominent ‘new industries’?
Motor vehicles, Chemicals, and Electrical engineering
Between 1850-1901, how much had the agriculture industry declined?
1/4 (approx 2m workers to 1.4m), for to machinery and oversees imports
Name 2 reasons for the the decline of agriculture?
- Lack of mechanisation
- More imported food
Why did many farmers in the c20 move from grain farming to areas such as dairy and beef farming?
More profitable, less overseas competition
What are invisible earnings?
The exportation of services as opposed to physical goods, such as banking and insurance
In 1914, what % of Britain’s services and goods were exported?
30%
by 1913, how much a GB’s total national wealth was in overseas investments?
32%
What does ‘economies of scale’ mean?
savings which can be made by producing many identical items (i.e. on a production line)
Why was a lack of research and investment into new technologies harming the GB industry?
Because it was a lot less efficient than those of Ger/USA, who had implemented these new technologies
What was an advantage of not mechanising the coal mines as much as the USA did?
More employment required- 1 million employed in mines, cut 92% manually in 1914, as opposed to only 75% in USA in 1900
How many mechanical conveyors were there in GB for 1000’s of mines?
360
Why did the GB motor car industry fail to succeed in the way it did in Ger/USA?
Because most were made in very small numbers, hand crafted by skilled men, unlike the production line systems pioneered by Henry Ford in USA which had a great economy of scale
By 1913, how much bigger was the German chemical industry compared to that of GB?
twice as big
By 1913, how many industrial dyes used in GB were imported?
90%
Why was the US electrical industry so much greater than that of GB?
Because the US implemented electric into its trams and factories 10 years before GB did
What is a high wage economy?
An economy where workers are paid enough to afford the goods they produce?
Which country benefited from a high wage economy?
USA
What was the problem with GB’s low wage economy?
the domestic market was small as only the middle/upper classes could afford to buy the goods
What was the advantage of Ger/US using tariffs?
Could keep their domestic market free of overseas competition
What was the problem with GB’s policy of free trade?
GG couldn’t bargain with other countries to reduce their tariffs, and foreign traders had easy access to British market
What was the evidence for GB’s shortcomings in education and training?
Weren’t producing enough qualified inventors, designers and technicians
Where in particular was GB lacking in education?
Science
What % of world trade was British?
25%
What percentage of British coal cut was done by machine?
8%
What percentage of American coal cut was done by machine?
20%
Why was Britain reluctant to convert to machinery?
Too expensive
Why did the GB car industry fail?
Lack of organisation and technical ability
How much bigger was the German chemical industry compared to the GB one?
2x
In 1908, how many people applied to do science at English universities?
<300
How many chemistry graduates did Germany produce every year?
400
What percentage of wheat sold in GB was British?
25%
Give 5 positive aspects of the British economy between 1906 an 1914?
- Staple industries were still profitable
- London remained the commercial centre of the world
- Worlds largest foreign investor
- Fresh, British milk demand was great
- Availability of cheaper food
