Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of Tables
- Introduction
- 1 Britain's international economic position in the 1920s
- 2 The political economy of protectionism
- 3 Imperial preference and the Ottawa Conference
- 4 The Scandinavian negotiations: formulation of policy
- 5 Completion of the first phase of negotiations: Scandinavia, Germany and Argentina
- 6 The world economic conference, Finland and Japanese competition
- 7 The Baltic states and Poland
- 8 British agricultural policy and imports during the 1930s
- 9 British exports to the trade agreement countries
- 10 Appeasing Germany and the United States
- 11 Some general conclusions
- Appendix A United Kingdom: payments, clearing etc., Agreements in force 1931–1938
- Appendix B Miscellaneous trade and payments agreements
- Appendix C Imports into Britain from foreign agreement countries
- Appendix D Total exports from Britain to foreign agreement countries and four dominions
- Appendix E Imports of selected commodities into UK, 1931, 1937, showing percentage from Empire sources
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Britain's international economic position in the 1920s
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of Tables
- Introduction
- 1 Britain's international economic position in the 1920s
- 2 The political economy of protectionism
- 3 Imperial preference and the Ottawa Conference
- 4 The Scandinavian negotiations: formulation of policy
- 5 Completion of the first phase of negotiations: Scandinavia, Germany and Argentina
- 6 The world economic conference, Finland and Japanese competition
- 7 The Baltic states and Poland
- 8 British agricultural policy and imports during the 1930s
- 9 British exports to the trade agreement countries
- 10 Appeasing Germany and the United States
- 11 Some general conclusions
- Appendix A United Kingdom: payments, clearing etc., Agreements in force 1931–1938
- Appendix B Miscellaneous trade and payments agreements
- Appendix C Imports into Britain from foreign agreement countries
- Appendix D Total exports from Britain to foreign agreement countries and four dominions
- Appendix E Imports of selected commodities into UK, 1931, 1937, showing percentage from Empire sources
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Although industrial predominance had been ceded to the United States and Germany before 1914, Britain had remained the world's premier trader, shipper and financier, adhering not only to free trade, but by maintaining a strong balance of payments position, having no difficulty in continuing to operate the gold standard. A great burst of overseas investment, together with rising food and raw material prices, had stimulated exports, increasing Britain's dependence on the primary producing countries. There had not been, however, at least from the 1880s, any notable increase in relative dependence on the formal empire, whether measured by exports, imports or investment.
A growing proportion of UK output had been exported before 1914, especially in the last decade and a half before the war. In effect, instead of meeting the challenge posed by the growing strength of its industrial competitors by developing newer lines of commodities, Britain had deflected it by finding new markets for the old products, and pumping up demand in those markets by the export of capital. By the 1920s this option was no longer available, and Britain paid the price for the earlier choice. Curiously enough, the growth record of the 1920s, as some economic historians have stressed, was quite respectable. It certainly marked an acceleration over the years 1899 to 1913. Between 1920 and 1929 industrial production grew at a rate of 2·8 per cent a year and industrial productivity by 3·8 per cent.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- British Protectionism and the International EconomyOverseas Commercial Policy in the 1930s, pp. 9 - 34Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993