Economic Growth

Question 1

how did post war prosperity impact the USA(4)

Answer 1

-US citizens consumed 50% more than EU
-pre war depression led to post war prosperity
-more employment opportunities in new industries
-more cautious consumer trends after 20s

Question 2

what was pre war gov spending compared to 1948 gov spending

Answer 2

-$9.4 billion –>$36.5 billion

Question 3

what two things grew after ww2

Answer 3

-the car industry
-the suburbs

Question 4

how many cars were in 1945 compared to 1950

Answer 4

-69,500 compared to 6.7million

Question 5

give a stat about two car families

Answer 5

two car families doubled between 1951-8

Question 6

what act helped the growth of the car industry and reduced public transport usage

Answer 6

-1965 Interstate Highway Act

Question 7

give two percentages of amount of Americans owning homes

Answer 7

1945 50% owned homes, 1960 60% did

Question 8

give a stat about the amount of Americans in the suburbs

Answer 8

1920-1960 percentage of Americans in suburbs almost doubled (17%-33%)

Question 9

how did the growth of the suburbs have a knock on effect

Answer 9

-inc car industry and shopping mall prosperity but hurt small shopkeepers

Question 10

give 4 factors that contributed to post war prosperoty

Answer 10

-depression caused ppl to save and made stable economic growth
-war industries created jobs
-gov spending inc
-restricted credit

Question 11

give 2 examples of those not affected by economic prosperity

Answer 11

-AA sharecroppers
-20% below poverty line

Question 12

by 1951 how many families had firdges

Answer 12

90%

Question 13

how many people lived below the poverty line in 1968 compared to the 50s and the 20s

Answer 13

1920s- 60%
1950s - 22%
1960s - 12%

Question 14

how much of the worlds population did the US account for and what percentage of world goods did they consume

Answer 14

-6% world population 1/3 of world goods

Question 15

what boom may have inc the economic growth and give 2 stats

Answer 15

-baby boom
-nappies = $50 mil a year industry
-1954-64 4 milion born a year

Question 16

explain 3 changes to American lifestyle caused by the economic growth

Answer 16

-more labour saving devices and more TV watched/ development of TV dinners
-food became luxury/leisure item
-shopping malls/ weekly shop developed

Question 17

why did right wing critics criticise consumerism

Answer 17

-thought mass culture encouraged sexual liberation and juvenile delinquency

Question 18

why was suburbia criticised

Answer 18

-too conformist/routine/ monotonous
-excluded AA populated in cities

Question 19

how were yes men criticised

Answer 19

-agreeable workers killed off individualism which was devalued in capitalist system

Question 20

what age group developed and how

Answer 20

teenagers were kept in school/ out of work for longer

Question 21

when did the recession start

Answer 21

-1970s

Question 22

what caused the 1970s recession

Answer 22

-post-WW2 boom began to decline due to inc international competition, the expense of the Vietnam war and the decline of manufacturing jobs
-unemployment and prices inc but wages stagnated –> stagflation

Question 23

how did Nixon react to stagflation

Answer 23

-Nixon devalued the dollar and announced a 90 day wage/price freeze

Question 24

what foreign affair worsened stagflation

Answer 24

-1973 Oil Crisis caused by a Middle Eastern embargo on the US for supporting Israel

Question 25

what were the gov’s economic policies known as and give an example of one

Answer 25

-known as the ‘Nixon Shock”
-eg breakup of the Bretton Woods system which unanchored the world’s currencies

Question 26

were the ‘Nixon Shock’ economic policies successful

Answer 26

-no 1971-4 wage/price controls only slowed prices during increasing food/energy shortages
-ranchers could not ship cattle to market led to shortages in supermarkets