Derek H. Aldcroft

The Growth of the Economy

Despite the ever-increasing amount of economic literature on the period between 1870 and 1939 it is difficult for the student to obtain an overall picture of the growth and development of the British economy during these years. A major problem is that the standard texts tend to cover the ground sector by sector so that it is possible to find out much about particular segments of the economy, such as agriculture, transport and trade, without gaining a real knowledge of exactly what happened at the aggregate level. This section therefore presents an overview of the growth of the economy based on the latest data, and examines some of the chief sources of economic change.

Rich nations, poor nations : the long-run perspective

Today the gap between rich and poor nations is larger than it has ever been in recorded history. Yet the economic hegemony of Europe was unanticipated in the 15th century when Europeans seemed no more advanced than their eastern counterparts. This collection of papers places present development problems in historical perspective, drawing on European experience to determine what characterized the growth of the worlds first industrialized continent. Topics discussed in this volume include the influence of late fertility on economic development, the roots of Latin American backwardness, economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe since 1870, macro-economic populism and economic failure in Africa since 1960, trade and exchange rate liberalization, and the impact of technology and capital market development in a divided world. This book offers a perspective on the development process in which authors relate historical work to the current problems of the Third World. While these papers are not soley anchored in the European past, they recognise that some positive things can be gleaned from Europes historical experience.

Economic Disasters of the Twentieth Century

The First and Second World Wars, the great depression, oil shocks, inflation, financial crises, stock market crashes, the collapse of the Soviet command economy and Third World disasters are discussed in this comprehensive book. The contributors subject these disasters to in-depth assessment, carefully considering their costs and impact on specific countries and regions, as well as assessing them in a global context. The book examines the legacy of economic disasters and asks whether economic disasters are avoidable or whether policymakers can learn from their mistakes.

Economic change in Eastern Europe since 1918

Economic Change in Eastern Europe since 1918 presents a concise, authoritative account of the economic history of Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia in the twentieth century. Drawing upon a deep knowledge of the primary literature and the latest research, the authors explain why Eastern Europe was already underdeveloped by 1914 before assessing the impact of two world wars, economic recession and socialist economic planning. The final chapter examines the aftermath of the 1989 revolutions and discusses some scenarios for the future of the region.

The Railway Age

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Europeans were still using the basic forms of transport provided by past civilisations. For the most part locomotion depended upon ‘human muscle, the beasts of burden, and the wind-filled sail’. In many countries large areas remained unexplored, although Britain, had fairly well developed surface communications. The main forms of transportation consisted of river and canal navigation, coastal shipping and horse-drawn transport, together with more primitive forms of conveyance.

The Basis of Economic Recovery in the 1930s : A Review and a New Interpretation

The main difference between Britain’s economic experience in the 1930s and that of other countries was that her recovery from the world depression of 1929-33 not only started earlier but was more persistent. Signs of recovery began to show themselves in late 1932, the revival became noticeable in 1933 and gathered momentum until 1937. Towards the end of that year there was some falling off closely related to the recession in the United States. But in spite of contemporary fears this relapse did not reach the dimensions of a slump for industry, and trade revived under the stimulus of heavy government expenditure on armaments, and in 1939 production figures were higher than ever. The extent of recovery can best be illustrated by a few statistics. The production index (1925-9 annual average = 100) fell from I 1 I in 1929 to 92 in 1931, but, then rose to 147 by 1937. Net capital formation took a larger share of national income, 7⋅7 per cent for the five years 1934-8 against 4⋅6 per cent in the preceding quinquennium and 6⋅6 per cent in the period 1924–81 Other indicators of economic activity shot upwards too: the number of workers in employment rose from 10⋅2 millions in 1932 to 11⋅5 millions in 1937, profits rose by to per cent and wages by 7 per cent in the same period, while real national income went up from 103 in 1932 (1925–9 annual average = l00) to 125 by 1938.

Trade unions and the economy : 1870-2000

What do unions do and why do they do it? Do they seek to maximise profit for their members, or to obtain better working conditions that benefit society as a whole? Derek H. Aldcroft and Michael J. Oliver here provide one of the first sustained studies of the effects of union activities in terms of economic performance and the impact on the business world. From the rise of the British mass trade union movement in the 1870s to the present day, the book examines the main trends in union development and structure, and the core strategies unions have used to achieve their objectives: the use of strikes, work rules and restrictive practices; workers’ attitudes to innovation; the wage bargaining process. Important assessments are made of the influence of these strategies on investment, innovation, economic growth, and the cost of structure and competitiveness of the UK economy.

The Performance of the British Machine-Tool Industry in the Interwar Years

The modest growth of the British machine-tool industry between the World Wars is here traced to competitive weaknesses in production methods and marketing arrangements.

The triumph of the dark: European international history 1933–1939

that there are only annual quotations for exchange rates. There are good reasons, explained on page xvi, for what is not included. In any case, an extension of the time span and more frequent quotations would have made the size of the volume unmanageable. However, an index would have been very helpful given the extent of the narrative text and the lengthy footnote references. The author and publishers are to be congratulated on producing such a splendid volume. It will be a must for reference libraries and individuals studying the subject. Given the vast amount of information contained therein and the quality of the production the price of the volume is not unreasonable.

The Stock Market.

Introduction Part 1. Theory: 1. Keyness explanation for the instability of share prices and investment 2. The Efficient Markets Hypothesis 3. Other explanations for the volatility of share prices Part II. Markets and Returns on Investment: 4. The volatility of share prices 5. The slow growth of real dividends 6. The underevaluation of equities 7. The property market Part III. The Survey: 8. The sample of institutions 9. The allocation of investments 10. Selection of shares 11. Market makers and views of the market 12. Competition between fund managers and investment strategies Part IV. OTHER EVIDENCE: 13. Keynes as an investor 14. The performance of fund managers 15. The Press Part V. Conclusions: 16. Keyness propositions, the efficient Markets Hypothesis and bubbles 17. Implications of the study 18. Are equities undervalued.