Economy 1914-22 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Wartime Economy demands?
Huge increase in production of weapons, supply war materials to allies, huge demands of transport, increase and protect food, and ensure adequate supply of coal.
Impact of wartime economic demands?
huge demand pushed up prices and created shortages of materials + workers in 1914. Private industry not cope = state commandeered stocks of vital war materials and fix prices.
What did the ministry of munitions oversee after DORA was extended in 1915.
Purchase, production and supply of all war materials.
What did the ministry of munitions do to aid war effort?
Set up central purchasing system for buying essential war materials. Organised british science to help war effort and develop new weapons. Encouraged factories change from peacetime to wartime production.
What key industries did the ministry of munitions control? And how many factors and people was this?
By 1918, direct managed 250 state factories , supervised 20,000 and controlled almost 4 million workers.
What else did the ministry of munitions do?
Controlled prices, wages and profits; rationed essential food; bought 90% of all imports and had charge of fuel and transport.
What state interventions occured at the home front?
Introduced british summer time, reduced alcohol percent of drinks and limited hours opening of the pub.
Set up Department of Food Production = aim to increase homegrown food, it subsided farmers to plough wasteland, allocated fertilisers and POW to work and encouraged women to volunteer for farm work.
How much was the great war? And how did they afford this?
Spending in 1913 £200 million, in 1918 £2600 million. Government borrowed money from own people and neutral countries (mainly USA). Also increased taxation - income tax greatly extended in 1915.
How did workers be impacted from the war?
Increase in tax, cost of living and food prices had doubled by 1918. But they did benefit from more work, could now work full time, overtime, and unskilled could negotiate due to less unemployment.
How did the war worsen housing situation in Britain?
All resources focused on the war therefore new house building and repairs were generally halted. Demand for munition workers brought more people into overcrowded industrial towns - increased demand combined with no increase for supply = increase rent prices.
Housing after the war?
Minister of health - Christopher Addison- introduced House and Town Planning Act 1919. Clear slums + more low rent homes. 200,000 houses built by 1922 but cost excessive. Paid £910 pu , true cost £385 pu.
Addison sacked. DLG apolagised to HoC. ‘22= home grants withdrawn and a shortage of over 800,000 homes for lower classes.
Economic recession after 1921= rather than more social provision, policy of retrenchment occured. Debt interest, falling tax revenue, trade slump and rising spending = Geddes Axe.
What did Geddes Axe do?
Recommended cuts of £86 million, reduced to £64 million. Housing subsidies withdrawn, cuts in education, armed series, the Agriculture Act was repealed and Unemployment Act altered = more difficult to claim.
Trade Unions during the War?
Patriotic stance, DLG negotiated to keep strikes minimal. Treasury Agreement 1914 = vital war work no strike. Munitions of War Act 1915= banned munition workers strikes.
Some objected TU saying not fulfilling their purpose and for accepting dilution agreements.
Despite ban on strikes, continued throughout war. 1917 = 48 strikes.
By 1921, how many members of trade unions were there?
The movement was stronger in 1918 and by 1921 had doubled its membership to 8 million + mood of militancy.
Strike examples?
1919 police strike in liverpool, serious riots in Glasgow. 1920 dockers refused to load ship with weapons to be used against communists.
1919 rail strike ended by DLG and he avoided threat of a coal strike by appointing Stanley Commission.
What was the impact of industrial recession in 1921? How many days lost?
Wages slumped, strikes increased. 1921 = 86 million days lost to strike.
Stanley Commission purpose?
Investigate wage and conditions of mines. Recommended nationalisation and conservative cabinet rejected this. Commission did recommend wage rises and shorter working hours - government agreed.
Steel’s stance after the war?
Capacity to produce during war expanded 50% but by 1921, clear over investment and overproduction.
How much shipping produce during war? And how much needed after war?
Produced 2,000,000 tons of shipping during war but after 1918, only needed 0.5 million tons a year.
Boom and bust of 1919-21
1919/20 boom = domestic and export doing well, little unemployment, profits and wages rising and industrial production grew about 20%
1920/21 bust = ‘bubble burst in winter’ and unemployment more than doubled and industrial production slumped.
State of coal after the war?
By 1918, other countries like Poland and Germany supplying world markets. Gas and electricity and oil were competition.
State of textiles after the war?
Overseas markets had been lost during the war to Japanese, India and USA.
What were the international restrictions on trade?
USA = tariffs. Italy = self-sufficiency. USSR= didn’t want to rely on capitalist countries for trade.
This + foreign competition hit staples hard because they were exporting industries = drastically scale back production = structural unemployment.
