British EconomyEssay Preview: British EconomyReport this essay1. The Rise to Economic Supremacy:Britain became the leading economic and trading power in the world. This devolopment was caused by several factors:– The Industrial Revolution:– Britain was the first country in the world which introduced the factory system and mechanizised the manyfactories– Britain had a lot of natural resources like coal and iron and colonies, from which they got cheap supplies of raw material– The colonies were also a secure market for British goods– BritainÒs important merchant fleet1– Britains entrepreneurs were willing to invest capital in technological innovations– A strong banking and credit system was neccessary– The textile industries, the coal mining and the iron and steel industries were very important for Britain– the British industry kept ist leading position although other European countries and the USA had become powerful industrial nations too1. Economic DeclineAfter the second World War, Britain has lost its leading postion. This had several economic, political and social causes.politico-economic reasons:– loss2 of British capital during the two world wars– loss of colonial markets– antagonistic3 economic principles of the alternating4 Labour and Tory governments– Lack of innovation and modernization, mismanagement and low productivity especially in the traditional industries (coal, iron, steel, textiles)– Low exports of British-made goods and increasing dependence on foreign- manufactored imports– Inadequate infrastructure– Bad relations between the Trade Unions and management * numerous official and unofficial (or so-called ,,wildcat”) strikes; there are more than 400 different unions in Britain which are loose organized
During the 60Òs and 70Òs, industrial relations deteriorated5 and the amount of strikes in mining, shipbuilding and the car industry began to paralyse6 the country.
Socio- economic reasons:– rigid class system– upper class people are generally prejudiced against manufactoring careers– the class antagonism of the working class leads to industrial conflicts– class distinctions make it difficult for people from the lower class from moving up the social scale– dual school system of state and private education* gap between employers and employees– lack of prestige of managerial jobs* crisis of industrial management1 kaufmÐnnische Flotte 4 abwechselnd2 Verlust, Schaden 5 sich verschlimmern3 konkurrierend 6 zum Erliegen bringen2. Structural changes in the British economy– traditional industries in South Wales, Merseyside, the Midlands, North East England and Scotland have lost their important role * unemployment and poverty in these parts
.3. Economic & political developments in Great Britain (1910-1915) are a product of the industrialised environment of the eighteenth century. These developments were shaped by extensive and unproductive changes in the agricultural production, distribution and production sector such as the establishment of trade routes, mechanised manufacturing, high efficiency cotton, wool and linen industries, mass production of steel and aluminum, mechanisation of textile production and textile products across Great Britain(20). British industrialised conditions were affected by the social and political pressures generated by, and shaped by, British political events, including the opening of and subsequent industrial changes. These pressures included, but were not limited to, class conflict, class politics, increasing political pressure on the public as well as, economic and political uncertainty. * These conditions were exacerbated by the economic and political crisis of the late 19th century. The crisis brought an unprecedented economic crisis and social conflict from the very beginning of the Second World War, which created the first great political crisis of the twentieth century. Following the Great Fire of 1919, and the first Great Depression, all of these historical changes altered England, created the largest industrial economic crisis after World War I, in terms of both unemployment and poverty. The first major crisis of this era involved a highly technicalised industrial restructuring, the ‘Warburg curve’. In 1894, the financial crisis and the failure of state and corporation policy to overcome the pressures of industrialised society caused Great Britain to join international warring economies and seek ways to resolve this problem through the global banking and financial crisis. This crisis coincided with the financial crisis of 1914 and followed by the ensuing Great Depression of 1931. Britain and the EU became the primary actors in the global financial crisis, with the British government being the most powerful financial administrator at the time. Under the leadership of Henry Howard, the British government undertook a national credit policy in 1914 which was based on the principle of free banking and created a ‘crisis liquidity policy’. The British government’s policy was to credit the UK Government to secure its support for the European monetary union, which was initiated in 1913 by the United Kingdom and entered into force on 30 June 1914. This policy did not apply to all the major banks at the time. Since then, the government’s own credit portfolio has been reduced significantly. The only major bank whose credit profile has remained unchanged is the Bank of Scotland and its current holding of 5.6 trillion pounds.
5. Economic factors that increased British industrialisation: 1. Great Britain’s economic strength – Britain’s economy expanded through the rise of the Industrial Estate
2. The Industrial Estate’s industrial base
3. UK’s economic growth – The Industrial Estate’s industrial base
4. English industrial power – The British Industrial Estate’s industrial power
5. The British Industrial Estate’s industrial power of 20 years 3. The British Industrial Estate’s industrial growth – The British Industrial Estate’s industrial power
6. Higher English growth – Higher English growth
7. The British Industrial Estate’s industrial base – Higher English growth 3. Higher English growth
8. Higher British growth – Higher
– rise of new, fast expanding industries– light and high-tech industries (aerospace,computer manufactoring, chemical pharmaceutical and plastic industries)are settled mainly in the London conurbation1
– discovery and exploitation of North sea oil and gas * new petro- chemical industry in North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Islands– change in the econ. structure from manufactoring to service industries– London has maintained and streghtened ist position as international trading centre3. The British economy in the 80Òs and 90ÒsThatcherism: -reform policy in the 80Òs-intended to create an economic climate of competition,production and efficiency-government influenced economy-the Blair government accepts these reforms,but fine tune themEconomic Growth: -caused by strengthening competition, reducing tax rates,exploitation of North sea oil-recession in the early 90Òs, then grew steadily forseveral years-economic problems that arose worldwide in 1998 had effectin Britain tooInflation: -the Tories have successfully fought inflation under Thatcherand Major through austerity2 policies and strict control of themoney supply-inflation fell from 18% (1979) to 4% (1986), but then doubled