Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Economics of WWI and WWII From the following sources: 1.The Economics of WWII: An Overview by Mark Harrison a chapter in The Economics of WWII, ed. by.

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: "Economics of WWI and WWII From the following sources: 1.The Economics of WWII: An Overview by Mark Harrison a chapter in The Economics of WWII, ed. by."— Presentation transcript:

1 Economics of WWI and WWII From the following sources: 1.The Economics of WWII: An Overview by Mark Harrison a chapter in The Economics of WWII, ed. by Mark Harrison 2. The Economics of WWI: An Overview by Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison a chapter in The Economics of WWI, ed. by Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison

2 Economics of WWI and WWII Both of these books consider two themes 1.The contribution of economic factors to the outcome of the war. 2.The effects of war on long-run economic development

3 Economics of WWI The contribution of economic factors to the outcome of the war. Economic Causes: 1.1st century of globalization with rise of world trade and capital markets and one aberration – the great powers competing for colonial empires. 2.Classical liberalism gave way to nationalism that viewed colonization as a zero sum game.

4 Economics of WWI Economic Causes: 3.Germany lost this competition for colonial empire and led to two causal factors. – Minor: Naval arms race – Major: Quest for a German empire led to an anti- German coalition with Britain and France (1904) with addition of Russia in 1907.

5 Economics of WWI Immediate Causes: 1.Crown-prince of Austria-Hungary assassinated by Serbian nationalist 2.A-H ultimatum that Serbia rejected 3.Russia’s mobilization to defend Serbia 4.Triggered German attack on France and Belgium for a knock-out blow then attack Russia 5.Germany anticipated victory in west in 6 weeks. 6.Germany expected victory by military means not economic means.

6 Economics of WWI Economic Factors determining the outcome (WEST) 1.Once the stalemate of trench warfare set in, in the west, it became a war of attrition. 2.Battles won by the last man standing – resources counted for everything. 3.Balance turned in the favor of the Allies with greater (human and physical) capacity to take risks, absorb costs of mistakes, replace loses, and quantitative superiority.

7 Economics of WWI Economic Factors determining the outcome (EAST) 1.Russia, Italy, A-H, and Ottoman empires in the east 2.Britain and Germany did not have the resources to fight in the east. 3.Over the long-run, the weakest economic power fell first – Russia 4.But when Germany fell in the West (due to economics), the East was lost too.

8 Economics of WWI 1.The military struggle in the west ended in ceasefire – not surrender. The German army was still on foreign soil. 2.For Germany and A-H, the war effort utilized more than half of national income. 3.With low per capita income and inefficient government services, the war effort was unsustainable in economic terms

9 Economics of WWI Long Run Economic Development Impacts 1.War is a negative-sum activity, especially if it is located on domestic soil. 2.Post-war recovery may be strong if: – War promoted new technology and economic organization – Bad government is destroyed and replaced by something better Russia: civil war, communism, and dictatorship Italy, A-H, Hungary: fascism and dictatorship Germany: fascism, dictatorship, war, and genocide

10 Economics of WWI 1.Peace is better than war 2.Lesson not learned in WWI – Treaty of Versailles 3.For Germany the lesson was to wage war again, only better 4.Lesson learned in WWII – cooperation after the war to promote classical liberalism – IMF (Bretton Woods) – World Bank – GATT – Strong global economic growth


Download ppt "Economics of WWI and WWII From the following sources: 1.The Economics of WWII: An Overview by Mark Harrison a chapter in The Economics of WWII, ed. by."

Similar presentations


Ads by Google