changing living standards, 1945-89

Question 1

how was FRG a country of affluence?

Answer 1

the FRG grew into a country of affluence and plenty, in which citizens felt secure enough to spend their earnings on goods they desired, while still often having enough to save

Question 2

give a statistic about car ownership

Answer 2

it rose from 2 million in 1950 to 12.1 million in 1965

Question 3

what was the average disposable income in 1964?

Answer 3

the average disposable income for a four-person household was DM904; of this DM823 was spent on private consumption, two thirds of which went on essentials such as food, housing, and clothing

Question 4

give a statistic to show the ownership of consumer goods

Answer 4

by the 1980s, more than 95% ownership of items such as washing machines, televisions and telephones

Question 5

how was this improvement in the standrd of living fuelled?

Answer 5

it was fuelled by the relative cheap cost of living caused by relatively low inflation and restraint on wage demands

Question 6

how did housing change in the FRG?

Answer 6

the number of rooms per person grew as more homes were built - from 0.9 in 1950 to 1.5 by the 1970s
living space per person rose from 19 square metres in 1950 to 30 square metres by 1980

Question 7

how did the cost of living rise and why?

Answer 7

improved living standards are usually accounted for by pay rises being greater than the rate of inflation.
prices rose by 6% annually during much of the 1970s
citizens were aware that prices were rising and trdes unions put in wage demands to account for this

Question 8

when did the cost of living start declining?

Answer 8

in 1986 in the FRG the cost of living started to fall and inflation was never greater than 3% during the remainder of the decade