British economy 1873-1914 Flashcards
By what percentage did the GDP of GB increase by between 1870-1890?
-Increased by 50%
What was the growth of Germany and USA compared to GB in 1873-1914?
-Growth of USA and Germany was double than that of GB
Between 1870-1914, by what percentage had British manufactured goods of global exports reduced by?
-75% to 50%
By 1914, what percentage of imports in GB were manufactured goods?
25% imports in GB = manufactured goods ( not making it themselves now)
a) By 1914, what percentage of global exported manufactured goods were made in GB and B) what was it in 1851?
-30% - used to be 40% in 1851
By 1914, what was the production of steel (tons) in a) GB and B) Germany and C) USA?
a) 7m tons in GB
b) 15m In Germany
c) 27m in USA
What new technology used for steel was GB behind Germany in using?
Germany used new and more effective Gilchrist Thomas process of 1893 more than GB which helped them to overtake GB in steel production
What new technology and type of fuel was GB slow to implement?
-GB was slow to implement electricity ; much behind Germany who used it for electrical engineering
What percentage of the world’s steel ships were built in GB in a) 1892 and b) 1911?
a) 1892= 80%
b) 1911 = 60% : still decreased but still produced by a large amount of world’s ships
what was the coal industry output in a) 1870 and b) 1900?
a)1870 = 110m tons
b) 1900 = 225m tons : coal industry at the height of its production
What percentage did Cotton amount to of British exports but limitations of cotton industry in Britain?
-Cotton = 25% of British exports, but 50% went to India
-Relied on labour and greater mechanisation was used in USA
What new industries emerged in Britain?
-Electricity, chemical and car industries
What percentage did GB produce of world’s chemicals compared to USA and Germany?
-GB contributed to 11% of worlds chemicals
-USA and Germany contributed to 60% of world’s chemicals
What were the problems with Britain’s car industry?
-Fragmented and it did not utilise assembly lines so was expensive and limited domestic market
How many cars did Ford produce in 1913 in US and how many cars did British produce?
-Ford in US produced 200,000 cars and GB produced 3,000
What new domestic industries emerged in Britaib?
-Lever Bros’ mass produced soap
-Lipton’s groceries
-Vickers-Armstrong (leading armaments industry)
-However all focused on domestic market not international
How many graduates were there in STEM subjects in a) 1870 and b) 1900
a) 19 in 1870 (cambridge and oxford did not offer subjects in sciences
b)1900 = 677 but fell short of competitors
What was the GDP of education spending of GB compared to USA+ Germany?
-GDP spent on education in GB was half of USA and Germany
What were unemployment rates in a) 1883, b)1892 and c)1908?
a) 2.5-1883
b) 10%-1892
c) 7.7% -1908
What two things meant foreign competition increased in GB?
-Germany unified in 1870 - led to concern of German penetration in GB market: book “made in Germany” was a best-seller in GB
-USA civil war ended in 1865
What did the phrase “annihilation of distance” mean?
-Progressions in communication and transport meant global trade and investment possible
By what percentage did the cost of shipping grain to GB from USA decline by from 1870s to 1910?
-1870s = 33% and 7.4% in 1910
How much did American wheat imports grow from in 1840 to 1900?
0 to 1.8m tonnes
How much did cross-border capital flow rise from in 1840s to 1914?
-7% (1840s) to 20% in 1914- mostly through City Of London
Why was GB’s commitment to free trade a bad thing and who wanted imperial preference and retaliatory tariffs?
GB committed to free trade whereas USA and Germany used tariffs to protect domestic industries
-Conservatives and Joe chamberlain wanted retaliatory tariffs and imperial preference - in 1906 he unsuccessfully tried to implement this
How much did GB foreign investment increase from 1870 to 1914?
-£1200m (1870) to £4000m by 1914
a)How much did net payments from abroad to GB rise from in 1840s to 1914 in GDP and b) what was the return on investment on railways in USA?
a)1.5% of GDP(1840s) to 8% in 1914
b) 8.5% ROI for railways in USA
What was the benefit of foreign investment?
-Incentivised trade with GB so they could obtain pounds to pay GB what they owed
-Invisible earnings from foreign investment hid the start of a trade deficit into visible earnings
What percentage of GNP did GB invest at home compared to USA + Germany?
-GB = 5-7% of GNP at home and Germany and USA = 12%
By 1914, what percentage of bread,butter, cheese and meat and eggs was imported?
bread,butter, cheese =50%
Meat =40%
-eggs = 30%
by 1900-1914 what percentage of wheat consumed came from domestic farmers and impact of this
-25%
-Arable farmers become bankrupt
How much did agricultural output fall by in 1851 to 1895?
-20% and many farmers became livestock farmers (40% of farmers)
Wat did agriculture’s share of national income fall by from 1851 to 1881?
-1851 = 20% to 10% by 1881
