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Lecture 4 - War and Peace
💡 In this second lecture, we look at how the First World War (or Great War) brought
the first wave of economic globalisation to an end, the impact this had on the British
economy, and the fate of policymakers' attempt to reconstruct the pre-war system
and what happened when they abandoned these attempts in 1931. As in the
previous lecture, we'll consider the structure and performance of the economy as
well as its winners and losers. In the process, we'll consider the 'decline debate'
(again) and some of the consequences of de-globalisation.
Agenda
Consider how theGreat War of 1914-18 brought the first globalisation to an end and with it
Britain's Global Economy
Decline rears its head once more as we explore the economic consequences of war,
peace, and Mr Churchill
The Eve of War
The world settlements pattern, 1910
Lecture 4 - War and Peace 1
, Britain became increasingly dependent on imports
This system was precarious as
there was a growing dependence on export earnings from India which paid for 2/3 of
imports before the war
Continued reliance on staple industries' export earnings
Did however provide opportunities for
Service sector expansion
Growing domestic market for consumables and durables
Britain hasn't advanced very far in the second industrial revolution eg. no chemical
manufacturing progression
People are moving into services as workers have more money to spend
A Trading Nation Goes to War...
War was not as quick as expected
Britain had anticipated that they would only be involved in a naval capacity
Table illustrating revenue vs. expenditure and thus the level of money that has to be borrowed
to fund the war
Question of how Britain will pay for the war
Reginald McKenna (Chancellor of the Exchequer) imposed tariffs, raised taxes, borrowed
money
Upends traditional liberal finance
Munitions crisis meant that all combatants were having to ration their munitions use
Limited ability to launch offensives
Lecture 4 - War and Peace 2
Lecture 4 - War and Peace
💡 In this second lecture, we look at how the First World War (or Great War) brought
the first wave of economic globalisation to an end, the impact this had on the British
economy, and the fate of policymakers' attempt to reconstruct the pre-war system
and what happened when they abandoned these attempts in 1931. As in the
previous lecture, we'll consider the structure and performance of the economy as
well as its winners and losers. In the process, we'll consider the 'decline debate'
(again) and some of the consequences of de-globalisation.
Agenda
Consider how theGreat War of 1914-18 brought the first globalisation to an end and with it
Britain's Global Economy
Decline rears its head once more as we explore the economic consequences of war,
peace, and Mr Churchill
The Eve of War
The world settlements pattern, 1910
Lecture 4 - War and Peace 1
, Britain became increasingly dependent on imports
This system was precarious as
there was a growing dependence on export earnings from India which paid for 2/3 of
imports before the war
Continued reliance on staple industries' export earnings
Did however provide opportunities for
Service sector expansion
Growing domestic market for consumables and durables
Britain hasn't advanced very far in the second industrial revolution eg. no chemical
manufacturing progression
People are moving into services as workers have more money to spend
A Trading Nation Goes to War...
War was not as quick as expected
Britain had anticipated that they would only be involved in a naval capacity
Table illustrating revenue vs. expenditure and thus the level of money that has to be borrowed
to fund the war
Question of how Britain will pay for the war
Reginald McKenna (Chancellor of the Exchequer) imposed tariffs, raised taxes, borrowed
money
Upends traditional liberal finance
Munitions crisis meant that all combatants were having to ration their munitions use
Limited ability to launch offensives
Lecture 4 - War and Peace 2