Economic policies 1973-1914 Flashcards
1
Q
causes of great depression
A
- global economic slow down
- decline in agricultural prices
- overcapacity in manufacturing
- technological changes
2
Q
consequences of the great depression
A
- industrial decline
- agricultural declaime
- raising unemployment
- technological stagnation
- regional disparities
- over reliance on heavy industries
3
Q
growth
A
- GDP of GB increased by 50% between 1870-1890
- British growth present but half the growth of 1811 - 1877;1877-1913 :1.6 pa
growth of Germany and USA twice of GB for 1873- 1914
4
Q
exports
A
- 1870- 1914 :British manufactured good declined from 75% of global exports to 50%
- by 1914 25% of all imports into GB were manufactured goods
- But 30% of all global exported manufactured goods were made in GB
- GB in top economics of the world in 1914
5
Q
steam & technology
A
- steam remained important
- but GB was slow with electricity supply relative to Germany which used it in electrical engineering
6
Q
steel (industrial capitalism)
A
- by 1914 British steel output stood at 7m tons whilst Germany and USA produced 15m and 27 tons
- GB imported basic steel from Germany from 1913 as British steel output was of a heavier form needed for ship building
7
Q
steel ships
A
- 80% of the world’s steel ships were built by GB in 1892
- 60% in 1911
- down but still more than half of the world steam ships
8
Q
coal
A
- British coal exports more than doubled
- coal industry employed nearly a million men and in 1914 was at its height of production
- but seams increasingly exhausted, poor industrial relations and only 8% mechanically cut
- coal industry expanded output
- 1870 : 110 tons
- 1900 : 225 tons
- share of british exports up from 13.4 to 25.9%
9
Q
cotton
A
- amounted to 25% of british exports
- but 50% of exports went to India
- reliance on skilled labour and a single market inhibited the introduction of new automatic looms in GB
- greater mechanisation used in the USA
10
Q
Railways
A
- saturated with railways by the 1850s
- british firms and investment capital constructed railways in the USA and Argentina instead
11
Q
new industires
A
- british electricity, chemical and car industry established
- but the USA and Germany produced 60% of worlds chemical to GBs 11%
12
Q
Cars
A
- car industry fragmented
- Wokships and not assembly based and expensive with a limited domestic market
- france and germany later sped ahead with cheaper cars
- 1914 Fords in the US produced 200,000 cars whilst Britain produced 3,000
- USA produced 4x as many cars as Europe
13
Q
domestic industry
A
- new service and retail industry
- but new British industries focused on domestic not international market
14
Q
Patents
A
- legal protection given to new methods and technologies
- dominated by Germany and the USA by 1914
- in new industries of chemicals, cars and electrical engineering
- between 1883 and 1913 Germany overtook GB in registering Patents
15
Q
Education
A
- 1870 only 19 new graduates in science, maths and technology
- oxford and cambridge did not offer these subjects
- 1900 667 new scientific graduates but this fell short of competitors
- 1872 university of Munich had more chemistry students than the whole of England
- education spending in GB as a share of GDP was half of that of Germany and the USA
- GB relied on skilled work learned on the job
16
Q
Great depression
A
- stock market crisis in new york and austria
- late Victorian initially blamed economic downturn on the crisis
- prices declined by 40% for that period
- incipient decline and effects of globalisation and the second industrial revolution were the real causes
17
Q
unemployment
A
-1883 : unemployment was 2.5%
- 1886 : 9.8%
- 1892 : 10% then fell
- 1908 : 7.7% then fell to 3%
- phrase unemployment first used in this period
18
Q
Free trade
A
- GB commitment to free trade not consistently mirrored by competitors
- Germany and USA used tariffs to protect their emerging industries
- Conservatives demanded retaliatory tariffs in response to tariffs imposed by competitors (france 1882, Germany 1879, USA 1883 & 1890) to encourage a return to international free trade
- 1906 chamberlain unsuccessfully tried to introduce tariff reforms
19
Q
city of london (financial capitalism )
A
- Foreign investment increased from £ 1.2b (1870) to 4b (1914)
- 40% went to empire
- net payments from abroad to GB rose from 1.5% of GDP (1840s) to 6% in 1880s and 8% by 1914
20
Q
invisible earnings
A
- record growth in invisible earnings is the state of a trade deficit in visible earrings
- British economy began to take the appearance of a dual economic personality - financial and industrial capitalism with separate interest
21
Q
agriculture exports and protfit
A
- by 1914 half of all fruit, bread, butter and cheese was imported
- 40% of meat and 30% of eggs were imported
- arable farmers experienced bankruptcy : by 1900 to 1914 only 25% of wheat consumed in GB came from domestic farmers
- agriculture share of national income fell from 20% in 1815 to 10% ny 1881
- agriculture output fell by 20% between 1851 and 1895
- between 1875 and 1914 the average farmer produced a profit that only covered a quarter of his rent
22
Q
invisible exports
A
- british still dominated this
23
Q
protectionism
A
- tariffs protect british industry from foreign competitions
