Reasons for economic growth 1871-88 Flashcards
What are the 6 main reasons for economic growth?
Education
Cartel System
Role of individuals and firms
National resources
Banks
Growing Population
2 Industrial companies founded in Germany and what they were
Krupp - production of steel, artilleryx ammunition & other armaments
Benz - the first gasoline powered automobile (car)
Evidence for the DECLINE of agriculture
• Fall in prices despite protections
• Poor harvests in 1870 led to reliance on US imports
• New infrastructure exposed farmers to more competition
• Many peasants moved to cities to work in industry
• trade grew for manufactured goods eg. chemicals, machinery, coal
Evidence AGAINST decline of agriculture
• Growth of towns and protection = new opportunities for enterprising farmers
• Machinery and fertilisers more available
• More than 4 million acres of land were brought under cultivation between 1880-1900
• 35% of the population worked in agriculture in 1907
How economically powerful was Germany? - Key Points
TRADE:
• Manufacturered goods and Imports increased heavily
• ‘Made in Germany’ symbol of high quality across the world
• trade gap filled by ‘invisible savings’ (earnings from abroad that balance payments)
• huge rise in merchant shipping fleet
BANK/MONEY
• By 1914 Germany was the 3rd largest creditor Nation after GB + USA
• Banks invested heavily in industrial research, trade & economic developments
(also GROWING POPULATION & NATURAL RESOURCES)
What is a Tariff?
Blocking other countries from selling products so that there is no lowering of prices of products from home
What was Weltpolitik?
Kaiser Wilhelm II’s aggressive foreign policy aimed at making Germany a global superpower
What is an example of Weltpolitik fueling economic development?
Naval Building Programme
- thousands of new jobs and it pushed German technological development
What percentage of the population worked in agriculture?
35%
