Economic Depression of Europe
An economic depression is more severe than a recession due to the fact that a depression involves drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and high levels of unemployment.
There were economic depressions in Europe that were experienced before and after the 1870 but with a remarkable difference, being that those that were experienced before the 1870s were less costly in terms of life and resources and took relatively lesser period. Indeed it was a commonplace that every part of Europe experienced one sort of economic depression or the other.
One such economic situation before 1870 was the "little ice age" which began in the late 16th century till around 1950s as indicated by Big Site of History (2011). This was a time when a severe cold that could not be withstood by most crops set in most part of Europe. This led to unpredictable harvest and a significant slowdown of population increase though there were exceptions in some areas of Europe.
The other noticeable economic depression that is worth mentioning is one that was caused by recurrent plague in 1665. This was seen as one of the most challenging depressions since it was occasioned by bubonic plague that hit London majorly though its effects were felt allover Europe. It was also known as the Black Death and wiped out well over 100,000 people in London. This had a massive impact on the economy of Europe since the productivity was highly slowed and almost all economic sectors were stalled due to the fleeing of people from London to avoid the plague and the mass death (Historic UK, 2011).
Europe experienced much more severe economic depressions which had a greater impact after 1870 as compared to economic crisis experienced in Europe during the 17th and the 18th Century. Economic crisis during the 17th century and 18th century include the 17th century general crisis and the global economic crisis of 18th century. After 1870 there were depressions like the 1870s long depression, 1893 economic crisis and the great depression of 1929 to 1940s that was majorly an extension of the American great depression.
One such depression that occurred post 1870 was the 1870s long depression whose effects were felt even in the 1890s depression. European countries by 1870 were so dependent on America which was not the case in the 17th and 18th century particularly when it came to the U.S. stock market. This explains partly why the depressions after 1870s were more severe in terms of impact as compared to the previous ones. The long depression in particular began as a result of building boom that was experienced in Europe particularly in Vienna with loans and mortgages becoming an easy to access thing. Indeed it was such an easy thing to obtain lending that people used even half finished houses as collaterals. The downturn came when Russia and central Europe could not cope with the stiff competition from America in terms of export of wheat and kerosene. Banks stopped dishing out money and the Vienna stock exchange crashed, the ripple effects reached Western Europe (Lisa Sanderson, 2009). The situation was compounded further by the American Panic of 1873, which was an economic depression in America. This predisposed the countries like the European countries that depended upon America economically to severe double negative effects hence making the depression after the 1870 more severe than those before it.
The other depression that hit Europe was the Great Depression that commenced in 1929. And just like the long depression, the effects were much more felt on the ground by most if not all European states. For instance the 1929 Great Depression that hit Europe due to the collapse of the U.S. stock market during the great depression in America showed how dependent European states were on the U.S. stock market. The other factor that made this depression severe on the countries that were involved was the sheer fact that it came hot on the heels of the Great War and the Versailles treaty. At the same time, the New York stock exchange permitted the fast selling off of securities due to unregulated speculations, there was also the rapidly changing democratic systems during the same time and governments in European countries suffered assaults of grand proportions (Pearson Education Inc., 2010). This meant that at this time Europe had to fight hard to overcome multiple problems that faced it in the already hard financial times hence making it suffer more than in the depressions prior to 1870s where it could be one...
(Buchanan, 72) The economic policy tools that were employed just after the war subsequently underwent some changes. From 1947 to 1950 direct controls on wages and distribution were eliminated followed by removal of trade controls in 1958. However, the government continued to maintain its hold over prices and credit distribution which made it different from many of its neighboring states in the postwar period. The French Ministry of Finance exerted
Many businesses could no longer operate in this fashion and likely closed their doors leading to a rise in unemployment. This is an example of the rule that Hitler had on the Pre-World War II German economy. The people of the nation were completely subject to his policies and because the economy was in such a vulnerable position as a result of the First World War, that Hitler's policies
The $13.3 billion provided by the United States definitely contributed to European recovery (Introduction pp). World War II had devastated much of the continent, leaving the local economies in ruin and millions homeless (Marshall pp). Moreover, the destruction of agriculture had led to conditions of starvation in many areas of the continent (Marshall pp). Many of the greatest cities were in ruins, others were severely damaged, and of particular concern was
Economic Inequality There are certain specific factors associated with the rich. As along as one can afford decent shelter, sumptuous meals; better education and access better health care then such a person cannot be said to be poor. It is so natural for the rich to remain healthy and live longer than the poor. They lead an easy life, for instance, it is unheard of for a business executive to go
Economic development of Eastern and Western Europe over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries obviously differed, but not to the extent that historians or economists have frequently imagined. Put simply, the economic histories of Eastern and Western Europe are frequently viewed according to either region's differing political organizations, with the capitalist West opposed to the Communist East, but in reality, the period of time defined by the rise
For the period of the late 1960s and early 1970s, West Germany strived to assist the dollar. The United States and many other nations pushed West Germany to reassess so as to make up for the dollar excess. (Germany in the World Economy) At last, after escalating waves of conjectures, the Bretton Woods system had a collapse in August 1971. All through the post-Bretton Woods period, the deutsche mark stayed
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now