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Retardation or Depression? 1873-96 Flashcards

1
Q

What was the argument in favour of adopting bimetallism during the 1873-96 depression?

A

The argument for bimetallism suggested that increasing the quantity of money would raise prices and thus reduce nominal debt, but also suggested it would be beneficial in the long term

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2
Q

What did contemporary I. Fisher think of calls for bimetallism?

A

I. Fisher thought bimetallism to be a “fallacy” of permanent gains

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3
Q

Who claimed that increasing the value of money would only work if it came as a surprise, otherwise rates would adjust in anticipation

A

R. W. Demand and R. G. Betancourt claimed that increasing the value of money via bimetallism would not work to redistribute wealth

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4
Q

What was T. W. Fletcher’s argument of recognition of the depression in agriculture?

A

Its existence ‘was, and is, universally accepted’

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5
Q

What is a contemporary quotation of the state of agriculture in the years 1873-1896?

A

J. A. Venn (1923) claimed agriculture was ‘plunged into the abyss’

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6
Q

What did E. Ojala study?

A

E. Ojala studied wheat crop contribution to gross agricultural output

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7
Q

What can be said about the contribution of wheat crop during the depression?

A

E. Ojala found that while wheat contributed 13% to gross agricultural output 1867-76, by 1894-1903 it contributed only 4%

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8
Q

What does T. W. Fletcher dispute about wheat contribution in the depression?

A

T. W. Fletcher argues that changes in wheat prices did not mirror general agricultural fluctuations, there is little evidence to suggest complete contraction

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9
Q

What is the difference between T. W. Fletcher’s assessment of wheat and E. Ojala’s assessment?

A

T. W. Fletcher uses the Saurbeck’s index unlike E. Ojala, asserting that it is more representative of British changes as a whole

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10
Q

What was the rate of population growth 1851-71?

A

The rate of population growth 1851-71 was 1.3%pa

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11
Q

What was the rate of real wages growth 1851-71?

A

The rate of real wages growth 1851-71 was <1%pa

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12
Q

What was the rate of population growth 1871-1901?

A

The rate of population growth 1871-1901 was 1.5%pa

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13
Q

What was the rate of real wages growth 1871-1901?

A

The rate of real wages growth 1871-1901 was 2%pa

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14
Q

What is a contemporary source for the impact of wage change on British farming?

A

P. A. Graham (1899): ‘the sort of man who had bread and cheese for dinner forty years ago now demands a chop’

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15
Q

In what period did dairy and meat prices rise in relativity to the wheat crop?

A

1846-1870s dairy and meat prices were congruent with wheat

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16
Q

What occurred between the years 1871-5 and 1896-00?

A

Wheat and flour imports increased 90%, meat imports increased by 30% and butter and cheese imports increased 110%

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17
Q

What can be said about the relationship between population and agriculture?

A

The population in the fin de siecle was growing faster than the demand for wheat was

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18
Q

What is the impact of the international markets with regard to the wheat industry?

A

Wheat prices were a direct reflection of the world price because British wheat was a homogenous product on the international market

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19
Q

When was there a severe outbreak of sheep disease?

A

There was a severe outbreak of sheep disease 1879-1881

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20
Q

According to Fletcher how much did total net income decline by in the depression?

A

Total net income fell by 7.5% according to Fletcher

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21
Q

During the depression what was the change in arable output?

A

Arable output during depression fell from £65mil to £41mil (2/5 drop)

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22
Q

During the depression what was the change in livestock output?

A

Livestock output during depression rose from £64mil to £71mil

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23
Q

By the mid-1890s what was the relevance of wheat in arable output?

A

Wheat by the 1890s was worth >1/6 total arable output

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24
Q

What must be acknowledged in forming arguments of depression in agriculture according to T. W. Fletcher?

A

T. W. Fletcher stresses that historical abstractions such as the ‘national farm’ as a lens of analysis are useless because it cannot be wholly prosperous or depressed- farming varied

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25
What facilitated the tie between bread and livestock in domestic consumption patterns?
fall in bread prices stimulated demand for livestock farmers, helped by improvements in transport, international trade, and living standard rises
26
Who made up the commissioners in the Royal Commission on the Depressed State of the Agricultural Interest?
Headed by the Duke of Richmond; 4 aristocrats, 2 landed gentry, 6 others
27
What was the pervading interest of those involved in the Commission on the Depressed State of the Agricultural Interest?
Agricultural- 12/17 members had direct interest in agricultural success
28
When was the Royal Commission on the Depressed State of the Agricultural Interest set up?
The Richmond Commission was set up in 1879
29
Outline the nature of witnesses called to the Richmond Commission:
35 farmers, almost all tenants. Only 1 <100 acres, 31 >300 acres, 25 >500 acres, 10 >1000 acres
30
What was the average farm size during the depression era? What does this mean for the Richmond Commission?
<100 acres, yet only one farmer-witness had this sized farm. The Richmond Commission wasn't representative
31
What does T. W. Fletcher say was a flawed assumption of the Richmond Commission?
T. W. Fletcher suggests that the Richmond Commission assumed that depression was general- but this was based on hearsay evidence
32
What did the Richmond Commission find to be the immediate cause of the depression in agriculture?
Weather was found to be the immediate (and universal) cause of agricultural depression
33
When was the second commission set up?
The second commission was set up in 1894 by the Gladstone ministry
34
What was the name of the second commission?
The second commission was called the Royal Commission on the Depressed Condition of the Agricultural Interests
35
What was the make up of members of the second commission?
2 aristocrats, 3 landed gentry, 1 MP, 2 farmers, 1 civil servants, 2 'experts', 2 lawyers, 1 Scot, and 1 Welsh
36
What was the nature of witnesses for the second commission?
22 witnesses were east and south farmers, over 18 north and west. But only 5/39 farmed <300 acres
37
What was the chief cause of depression according to the second commission?
The second commission thought the chief cause to be falling prices
38
Why did the second commission recognise its own biases?
There was discourse over whether the commission was representative or not because 50/69 case studies were from the chief corn producing counties
39
Who said that world prices fell because of tech and transport developments?
P. A. Gourevitch
40
What did the fall of world prices mean?
Falling world prices transformed the international markets, and not necessarily in Britain's favour
41
What is an example of a development which led to falling world prices and a changing international market?
Plains nations such as Australia and USA developed as low-cost producers with land that hadn't been overworked, Europe could not compete
42
What was changing Internationally with regard to industrial diversity?
New industries were being introduced and developed, but this impact was small because capital returns were in decline
43
What worsened the impact of international competition on British exports?
Britain had low tariffs for both agriculture and industry, where France had high for both, Australia low and high etc. Thus internationally the British economy was less supported geo-politically
44
What is the relationship between tariffs and British economic failure?
Tariff levels derive from the interests of economic groups able to translate calculations of economic benefit into public policy
45
Who claims that from1873 British industry suffered because of international competition?
P. A. Gourevitch
46
Why was Britain the only nation which failed to raise tariffs to protect industry?
Britain failed to rise tariffs because it was used to having cheap foodstuffs from the international market in return for industrial products, and also many magnates wanted to continue lassiez-faire policies
47
What obscured the continual decline of Britain's international position?
Invisible services mitigated the effect of the decline in the international market
48
According to P. A. Gourevitch, what is the relationship between agriculture and industry?
P. A. Gourevitch suggested that industry had irrevocably altered British agriculture, that farmers successes now lay with the fate of industry
49
What solidified the narrative of British industry superseding the importance of British agriculture?
The repeal of the corn laws in 1846 under Robert Peel
50
Why had Britain become so dependent on overseas resources by the depression?
By the depression, the power of the British navy and extent of the empire had facilitated reliance on overseas resource
51
By how much did the price of wheat (per quarter) fall 1873-1875?
Between 1873-5 wheat prices per quarter fell almost 14 shillings
52
What role was played by dairying in the depression?
Milk contributed very little to corn counties output at the beginning of the depression, but there was a tentative move towards dairying because of fluctuating prices and international competition in agriculture
53
What was the nature of the dairy industry in the 1880s?
In the 1880s an excessive amount of tinned milk was being imported- but despite fresh milk first being imported in 1879 fresh milk was still domestically led
54
What is the relationship between dairy and trains?
increasing dairy product imports meant domestic cultivators used improving rail networks to send milk to metropoles
55
Who claims that for contemporaries price indications of agricultural depression weren't clear because of regional disparity?
E. Hunt and S. Pam claim that price indications of depression weren't clear to contemporaries because of regional disparity
56
Why were contemporary responses to market pressures discouraged 1884+
From 1884, contemporary rational responses to market pressures were discouraged because cereal prices weren't falling more significantly than general prices
57
What do E. Hunt and S. Pam claim regarding agricultural investment?
They could not find any concrete evidence to suggest that investment rates fell during depression
58
What was the impact of long-term price decline in British agriculture?
Long-term price decline in British agriculture was unfavourable to cereals but benefitted livestock- especially meat.
59
How clear was the nature of British agriculture to contemporaries according to E. Hunt and S. Pam?
E. Hunt and S. Pam assert that agricultural successes and failures weren't plainly obvious: prices constantly fluctuated at varying rates, largely because of alterations in output, but also because of residual factors.
60
Why was the Gold Standard failing in the latter half of the eighteenth century?
The Bank of England's attempt to impose the Gold Standard worldwide was failing because there wasn't enough gold for all economies to be based on it
61
Why did the gold standard affect the international market price collapse?
Goods were pouring onto the world market, but there wasn't enough money to buy them at their proper value
62
How does H. Michell characterise the state of the Gold Standard during depression?
For H. Michell, 'the banks were trying to supply the needs of venture capital within the rigid confines of the monometallic gold standard'
63
Between 1850-1880 how much was added to British overseas investment?
Between 1850-1880 £1bil was added to overseas investments, especially railways
64
What was the common outcome of British funded railway ventures abroad?
Most went into liquidation during or shortly after building
65
What does H. Michell understand to be the main cause of the 1873-1896 depression?
Predominantly, if not wholly, the monetary factor
66
What was the role of credit instruments in relation to the stability of the gold standard during depression?
Although contemporaries thought them to decrease value, credit instruments such as bills of exchange on the Gold Standard actually helped create increase value for gold
67
How much gold was added to the world market in 1881-90?
$1.07 billion worth of gold was added to the world market in 1881-90
68
How much gold was added to the world market in 1891-1900?
$2.2 billion worth of old was added to the world market in 1891-1900.
69
What is A. E. Musson's opinion of the depression of 1873-1896?
A. E. Musson argues that there was no evidence of absolute decline, prices fell but there was an upwards trend in some economic sectors
70
What two contemporaries suggested that there was no generalised depression?
Giffen and Marshall- they thought that there was in prices, interest and profits, but not a depression of the whole economy
71
What was the mass opinion of the British economy in 173-1896?
The mass opinion during the depression was that economic conditions were bad
72
Who were the real sufferers of the depression according to A. E. Musson?
The ones who suffered during depression were asserted by A. E. Musson to be the merchants, financiers and industrialists
73
By how much did prices fall in staple commodities during depression?
Staple commodity prices during depression fell approximately 40%
74
What does A. E. Musson claim to be the main reason for depression?
A. E. Musson agrees with H. Michell, they both argue monetary supply to have been the main reason for depression
75
What is a common secondary explanation for depression which is in opposition to suggestions of monetary supply being the cause?
Some think, as some contemporaries did, that the primary causes were mechanisation, production and transportation (i.e. that products of capital investment)
76
What was the social impact of price falls?
Price falls may have been detrimental to the producing classes but the lower classes heavily benefitted from them
77
What was the nature of industrial production before and during depression?
Industrial production before depression was increasing at roughly 2% pa. During depression it was increasing at <1%pa according to A. E. Musson
78
What does industrial production rates suggest about the nature of the late Victorian economy?
Industrial production rates continued to rise just more slowly, it is fair to say that rather than a depression here it was a retardation
79
Why was Britain losing the technological lead internationally?
Britain wasn't moving into new dynamic areas quickly or enthusiastically enough, and there was a lack of modernisation in existing industries such as iron and steel
80
What can be said of advancements in the industrial sector?
The innovation of Britain's Schumpterian phase was clearly coming to an end- there wasn't no innovation, just less
81
What is creative destruction?
Creative destruction is schumpterian theory- that what exists before must be destroyed in order to create new methods etc. (I.e. IR)
82
What was Britains rate of manufacturing production growth 1873-1913?
Britains rate of production growth in manufacturing was 1.8%pa 1873-1913
83
What was America's rate of manufacturing production growth 1873-1913?
America's rate of production growth in manufacturing was 4.8%pa 1873-1913
84
How can we account for America's higher rate of production growth in manufacturing?
The American rate of production growth in manufacturing was higher because they were industrialising later, it doesn't mean Britain was doing bad, it was just slowing down
85
What happened to enthusiasm to invest during depression?
During depression the percentage of net national income decreased from 12.6% to 9.7%, but it picked back up to 11.7% after
86
What did the Richmond Commission's final report in 1886 claim?
The final report of the Richmond commission claimed that the diminution in profits overall caused feelings of widespread depression- and that the reasons for this were beyond British controls
87
What was the export value before depression versus during according to the Board of Trade?
According to the Board of Trade, export value before depression was £235mil (1870) versus £192 mil (1979) although by 1890 there had been recovery to £263mil
88
What did depression mean for the import export traditions of Britain?
Britain increasingly relied on foodstuffs imports and exports to the empire, A. E. Musson suggests this was a foundation of imperialism
89
What did W. W, Rostow find in regards to real wage increases during depression?
W. W. Rostow found that during depression real wages increased at a rate of 2.04%pa
90
How can we see contemporary opinion of wage increases? (2 ways)
Through pamphlet literature it is clear that contemporaries understood that labour's condition was improving during depression, but the Richmond Commission also acknowledged it.
91
What was a change in the make up of labour which occurred at the same time as depression?
the rapid population increase from 1855 was becoming of age, so there was an influx of young men into the labour market
92
What did O. V. Wells attribute the cause of the depression to?
O. V. Wells thought the cause of the depression to be financial excess

Economics (9 decks)

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