The Interwar Years

Question 1

What does D.H. Aldcroft argue about the interwar economy?

Answer 1

D. H. Aldcroft argued that between 1920-38 factors inputs contributed less to growth output than residual improvements

Question 2

What does Aldcroft mean by residual factors?

Answer 2

‘residual’ input factors is taken to mean tech advancements, resource allocation, business organisation etc.

Question 3

How does Aldcroft prove that residual change its what impacted output growth?

Answer 3

Between 1899-1913 output growth was lower than interwar, but there was a steady growth of factor input, so residual must be the difference

Question 4

What is the most important part of residual change according to Denison?

Answer 4

advances in technique, resource allocation and economies of scale are the most important aspects of residual change

Question 5

Summarise the difference between pre and post war economic focus:

Answer 5

Prewar, resources were focused on slow growing sectors, post war, export heavy staple industries declined and gave way to new industries

Question 6

Outline the growth in new industries’ contribution to industrial output:

Answer 6

In 1907 new industries made up 6.5% of industrial output, in 1924 12.5%, and in 1935 19%

Question 7

What was the role of the service sector in regards to employment?

Answer 7

Apart from 1921-2 employment in service trades grew every year. So although small, amidst constant fluctuations it acted as a stabilising force.

Question 8

Who characterised the interwar economy as paradoxical?

Answer 8

J. Stevenson and S. Cook- because the economy was doing well and badly simultaneously

Question 9

What often clouds historical analysis of the interwar economy?

Answer 9

Often the high unemployment levels which didn’t dip below 1mil obscures the advancements made

Question 10

How can the interwar economic changes be described?

Answer 10

There wasn’t all out recession, nor was there all out recovery. There was rapid, sharp and much needed change

Question 11

What are the three main themes of the interwar economy?

Answer 11

Industrial changes, the rise in standard of living through consumerism, and chronic unemployment

Question 12

How did traditional historian A. J. P. Taylor refer to the 1930s?

Answer 12

A. J. P. Taylor thought the 1930s to be ‘the devils decade’

Question 13

Between 1912-1930 electrical power in industrial production increased from what to what?

Answer 13

Electrical power in industrial production increased from 25% to 66% in the years 1913 to 1930.

Question 14

What occurred in 1929-31?

Answer 14

An international slump which caused British exports to almost half in value, forcing the country to drop the gold standard

Question 15

What did the international slump mean for resources in Britain?

Answer 15

Resource allocation was overhauled because of the decline of exports, so capital and labour went to dynamic areas of the economy

Question 16

What is a source for the impact of the war on the British economy?

Answer 16

One Sheffield contemporary in 1920 claimed: ‘the war had done Sheffield industry good. IT has shaken it up in a way nothing else would have done’

Question 17

What was the growth rate of GDP in the 1930s?

Answer 17

1.7%pa.

Question 18

Break down the growth rate of GDP into factor inputs:

Answer 18

1% of GDP growth is accounted for by residual inputs, 0.7% by capital and labour

Question 19

What were the fastest growing industries in the interwar years?

Answer 19

allied trades (construction + materials) and new industries (vehicles, electricity)

Question 20

How did total industrial labour force in the dynamic industries grow in the interwar years?

Answer 20

Construction and new industries had 30.5% of the industrial labour force in 1920, 37.4% in 1929 and 42.2% in 1938

Question 21

By 1938 how much of total domestic investment could be found in dynamic sectors of the economy?

Answer 21

By 1938, construction and new industries had >60% of total domestic investment

Question 22

Outline T. Barna’s study of interwar industrial interaction:

Answer 22

T. Barna found that the vehicle industry interacted with 24/36 of the main industries with a transaction value of £213mil

Question 23

What is often disputed regarding factor inputs in the interwar economy?

Answer 23

The reallocation of capital is disputed to have been important- it is difficult to disentangle capital from residual inputs

Question 24

What was N. Kaldor’s view of the role of capital in the interwar economy?

Answer 24

N. Kaldor thought that capital, although contributing less to GDP growth, was important because it facilitated innovation

Question 25

What was R. Matthews view of the role of capital in the interwar economy?

Answer 25

R. Matthews contended with Kaldor, asserting that 1924-1937 only saw a 0..19% correlation between capital and innovation

Question 26

What can be said about Matthews and Kaldor's at-odds interpretations?

Answer 26

Replacement investment was >70% in the interwar years, but only 33% prewar, suggesting that capital can't be ignored because the economy was better in the former

Question 27

What was the nature of the housing problem in the interwar years?

Answer 27

There was a serious deficit- a need for 1.9mil houses, to meet this 300,000pa 1921-31 would need to be built

Question 28

What helped the interwar housing crisis? (3 things)

Answer 28

Liberalisation of building society borrowing, 4 parliamentary Acts being initiated, and a fall in costs

Question 29

By how much did house prices fall in the interwar years?

Answer 29

From £432 in 1928 to £361 in 1934

Question 30

What did the housing boom of the late 1930s contribute to?

Answer 30

The late housing boom contributed to the overall rise in the standard of living

Question 31

Were mortgage rates realistic in the interwar years?

Answer 31

Yes, mortgage rates were incredibly realistic. The average deposit was £25- about 2 years of saving without compromising living standards

Question 32

What changed for those that were in regular employment in the interwar years?

Answer 32

Those in regular employment saw a 15% improvement in wages on average

Question 33

By how much did living costs fall in the interwar years?

Answer 33

In the interwar years living costs fell by approximately 1/3

Question 34

How did Britain's savings increase in the interwar years?

Answer 34

In 1920 there was £82mil in building societies, in 1938 there was £717mil

Question 35

How can we show that Britons had more disposable income in the interwar years?

Answer 35

Disposable income can be inferred from the increase in vehicle ownership

Question 36

Outline the increase in vehicle ownership

Answer 36

In 1920 500,000, in 1930 1.5mil, in 1939 3mil

Question 37

What changed in the interwar years with regards to the vehicles industry?

Answer 37

The price of creating vehicles fell 33% 1923-9 because of perfection of technique

Question 38

By how much did employment in service trades (i.e. distribution/wholesale) increase in the interwar years?

Answer 38

Employment in service trades went from 1.78mil in 1920 to 2.44mil in 1938

Question 39

What is the rise in service trades employment indicative of?

Answer 39

A rise in service trades employment shows not only that unemployment was general, but also sheds light on rising consumerist culture

Question 40

Did the working class also benefit from interwar changes?

Answer 40

Yes. Where in 1914 60% of income went on food, 16% on rent; in 1937 35% went on food and 9% on rent

Question 41

What can be said about the decline in birth rate?

Answer 41

Fewer children was reflective of changing familial economic needs, and the beginning of women's work- but further research is needed

Question 42

What was the decline in birth rate?

Answer 42

The prewar birth rate was 94:1000, in 1938 it was 62:1000

Question 43

What is the difference between contemporary and historical interpretations of the fall in British interwar birth rates?

Answer 43

contemporaries thought the fall in birth rate to have been a response to depression, however historians have attributed it to an increase in effective contraception education

Question 44

How can the divide between middle and working classes be highlighted?

Answer 44

Through food consumption it is clear that the middle class was better off in the interwar: 2.5x more fruit, 3x more veg than working class

Question 45

What is a contemporary study which highlights depression in the interwar years?

Answer 45

S. Rowntree's survey of York (1935)

Question 46

Outline the Rowntree survey:

Answer 46

31% of the population were found o be in poverty, 6.5% in "primary poverty"- i.e. can't afford basic sustenance

Question 47

What is a contemporary study which highlights the geographical dispersion of depression?

Answer 47

The New Survey of London Life and Labour (1934)

Question 48

What did the New Survey of London Life and Labour find?

Answer 48

The New Survey found that poverty fell by 2/3 1900-1929, in the East End falling from 750,000 to 250,000

Question 49

What can be said about the causes of unemployment and poverty?

Answer 49

Poverty was not solveable with one policy because it was affected by many things, and unemployment was not for lack of jobs.

Question 50

What were the worst years for unemployment?

Answer 50

1921, 1930-2, 1938

Question 51

When did unemployment peak?

Answer 51

Unemployment peaked in 1930-1 at 3 million

Question 52

How did the govt try to manage unemployment?

Answer 52

Governments attempted to manage unemployment by adopting policies of financial orthodoxy and economic conservatism such as means tests and new taxes

Question 53

What was the rate of employment growth in the interwar era? Why?

Answer 53

Rate of employment growth was 0.5%pa, because of the 'ailing giants'

Question 54

What was the biggest issue behind unemployment?

Answer 54

demography was the biggest issue in interwar unemployment- the labour force did not match the population

Question 55

By how much did the population grow in the interwar period?

Answer 55

The population of Britain grew from 44 mil to 47 mil

Question 56

Why was unemployment geographically uneven?

Answer 56

Unemployment was geographically uneven because work shortages were common in basic industries with well-established bases, newer industries were not as big.

Question 57

What industries had notable employment gains?

Answer 57

Construction and electricity are the only industries which saw a worthy increase in employment

Question 58

What was the employment increase in construction?

Answer 58

107,000

Question 59

What was the employment increase in electricity?

Answer 59

318,000

Question 60

What quote encapsulates how the interwar period should be interpreted?

Answer 60

D. H. Aldcroft: 'economic growth and unemployment are not incompatible"

Question 61

Summarise the 1930s:

Answer 61

The 1930s saw the realisation of tech changes and modernisation which had been delayed by the onset of war and international slump in the 1920s

Question 62

How many cars in 1939 were privately owned?

Answer 62

2 million out of the 3 million total cars were privately owned

Question 63

What is a fact which shows the increase in leisure and consumerism?

Answer 63

3 cinemas were opening weekly in 1939- showing the increase in disposable income