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Flashcards in 18. Economic Issues BRT Deck (106)
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1
Q

Mobilisation of resources during wartime: what areas did the comprehensive gov controls that were introduced at start of war cover

A

Food supplies, transport and the labour force

2
Q

Extension of gov control: what did the gov pass in 1939 as soon as war broke out

A

Energy powers act 1939

3
Q

Extension of gov control: what was gov granted authority to do until emergency powers act

A

Make regulations covering any aspect of life necessary to secure defence of the realm

4
Q

Extension of gov control: which ministries were set up

A
  • ministry of aircraft production
  • ministry of labour
  • ministry of production
5
Q

Extension of gov control: how did cabinet committees coordinate work of separate ministries

A

Ministry of production coordinated on supply side and treasury being responsible for finance

6
Q

Extension of gov control: how gov control extended over industry directily

A

Royal ordnance factories employed 300,000 workers

7
Q

Extension of gov control: why were non essential industries run down

A

So their machinery and labour could be diverted to war Work

8
Q

Extension of gov control: why were new production methods devised

A

Raise output and save labour

9
Q

Extension of gov control: why did gov encourage greater use of science

A

Improving efficiency of economy and for developing new techniques/warfare

10
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: why was Bevin the ideal choice as minister of labour

A

He had a long career in TU affairs before the war

11
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: why did Bevin have to do with the millions unemployed in 1940

A

Get them back to work and mobilise the workforce efficiently

12
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: what kind of conscription did Bevin introduce

A

Industrial conscription for men and later women too

13
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: who were conscripted to Work in coal mines from late 1943

A

Young men/bevins boys conscripted to work in coal mines

14
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: which industries were women encouraged to work in

A

Munitions, engineering and shipbuilding

15
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: which problem did the demands of war Work solved

A

Unemployment

16
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: what did the total workforce raise by

A

2 million

17
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: what did Bevin use to force factories to improve conditions

A

Essential work orders

18
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: how were factory conditions improved

A

Works canteens, washrooms and medical centres

Wages improved, TU bargaining continued

19
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: how did Bevin maintain workers morale

A

Constantly toured factories and delivered 300 speeches, encouraged lunchtime entertainment

20
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: what was broadcast on the bbc from 1941

A

Workers playtime

21
Q

Bevin and the organisation of war Work: what effect did bevins contribution to the war effort have

A

Did a lot to change perceptions and to convince people that labour politicians could be trusted with power

22
Q

Control of food supplies: why did clothes food and fuel have to be rationed

A

Imports of food had to be reduced following loss of shipping due to German u boat attacks

23
Q

Control of food supplies: who was in charge of devising a fair rationing policy and advising public on how to make the best of it

A

Ministry of Food under Lord Woolton

24
Q

Control of food supplies: how was agriculture changed to increase productivity

A

Millions of acres of land ploughed up, production shifted from meat to cereals and greater use of tractors and fertilisers

25
Q

Control of food supplies: which campaign led to a huge rise in home grown veg

A

Dig for Victory

26
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rationing: what was austerity

A

Living standards held down so that production could go into exports to earn mucb needed dollars

27
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rationing: why did labour maintain and even intensify wartime rationing

A

To limit imports and divert resources into exports

28
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rationing: why were 1948 rations below wartime average

A

Financial and economic crisis of 1947

29
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rationing; which two foods were rationed between 1946-48 which hadn’t been in the war

A

Bread and potatoes

30
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rationing: when did it end completely

A

Not until 1954

31
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rebuilding exports: what was the export drive the twin of

A

Austerity

32
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rebuilding exports: what could exports especially to America earn

A

The dollars needed to buy essential imports of food and raw materials

33
Q

The post war economic adjustment: rebuilding exports: why did imports have to be reduced

A

To avoid paying for goods in dollars

34
Q

The post war economic adjustment: peacetime industrial production: why did industries need to switch quickly from wartime to peacetime production

A

If export drive was to be met

35
Q

The post war economic adjustment: peacetime industrial production: why were gov controls maintained

A

In order to allocate materials and give priority for exports

36
Q

The post war economic adjustment: peacetime industrial production: why did labour have a regional policy directing and encouraging new factories to open in old depressed areas

A

Economy needed to work at full capacity

37
Q

The post war economic adjustment: peacetime industrial production: what were wartime controls maintain on

A

Prices and wages

38
Q

The post war economic adjustment: economic planning and employment: why did labour believe in state planning

A

To support the export drive and maintain full employment

39
Q

The post war economic adjustment: economic planning and employment: how did labour plan to support export drive and maintain full employment in long term

A

Through nationalisation

40
Q

The post war economic adjustment: economic planning and employment: how did labour plan to support export drive and maintain full employment in short term

A

Gov used rationing system to control use of which materials and labour could be put with priority for exports

41
Q

The post war economic adjustment: economic planning and employment: how did the gov stimulate economy, avoid inflation and unemployment

A

Taxation, interest rates and the budget

42
Q

The post war economic adjustment: economic planning and employment: how was agriculture helped

A

By subsidies and guaranteed prices

43
Q

The post war economic adjustment: building a new international economic system: who did labour cooperate with to build a new world economic order

A

The United States

44
Q

The post war economic adjustment: building a new international economic system: what was the new world economic order based on

A

The world bank and the International Monetary Fund

45
Q

The post war economic adjustment: building a new international economic system: how did the building of a new world order begin

A

With a meeting of economic experts to agree on a general agreement on tariffs and trade

46
Q

The post war economic adjustment: building a new international economic system: what did the new world economic order aim to do

A

Regulate world trade in order to avoid another deep deperession like that of 1930s

47
Q

labours post war balance of payments: how much debt did Britain have

A

£4198 million

48
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what was the balance of payments crisis from 1945-1946

A

Britain spent £750 million more abroad that it received

49
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what was the drop in the export of manufactured goods

A

60%

50
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what was the reduction in invisible exports between 1938-1946

A

1938: £248 million
1946: £120 million

51
Q

labours post war balance of payments: in which areas were costs rapidly increasing

A

in maintaining the military overseas

52
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what did Keynes do to cope with the crisis

A

negotiated loans from the USA and Canada totalling more than $5000 million

53
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what conditions did the loans come with

A
  • Britain had to end its policy of giving preference to trade with countries in the British empire
  • Britain had to accept policies of multilateral trade and join the new organisation of general agreement on tariffs and trade
  • Britain had to make the pound fully convertible to dollars within a year
54
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what was the dollar gap

A

the us dollar was so strong that Britain began to suffer from it

goods had to be paid for in dollars, making loans less effective and harder to repay

55
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what was the loan running out years before it was meant to partly down to

A

the bad winter of 1946-47

56
Q

labours post war balance of payments: who was the chancellor at this point

A

Hugh Dalton

57
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what did Hugh Dalton have to allow holders of sterling to do

A

convert these into dollars

58
Q

labours post war balance of payments: why did convertibility have to be suspended within a month

A

there weren’t enough dollars in the Bank of England

59
Q

labours post war balance of payments: what effect did the crisis have

A

shook confidence in Attlee’s cabinet and brought home realisation that Britain couldn’t continue spending so much on overseas commitments

60
Q

labours post war balance of payments: which controls were reintroduced in the meantime

A

exchange controls

61
Q

recovery: what was a significant reason for the economy starting to recover by 1948

A

American Aid

62
Q

recovery: what had the usa started to fear from 1947 about poverty in Europe

A

that it would lead to spread of communism

63
Q

recovery: under which plan did the US give 13 billion dollars in economic aid to Europe

A

the marshall plan

64
Q

recovery: what did exports increase by between 1946 and 1950

A

80%

65
Q

recovery: how much higher was the volume of exports by 1950, than 1937

A

50%

66
Q

recovery: how was the motor vehicle industry especially successful

A

almost doubled pre-war peak of production

67
Q

recovery: what was success of motor vehicle industry helped by

A

lack of competition fro Germany and Japan

more damaged by war than britain

68
Q

recovery: what setback was there in 1949

A

recession in America reduced demand for British exports and produced another balance of payments crisis

69
Q

recovery: what did Stafford cripps do in response to 1949 balance of payments crisis

A

devalued pound sterling against US dollar

£1 worth $2.8 instead of $4.03

70
Q

recovery: what was the disadvantage of devaluing pound

A

it was a blow to british prestige

71
Q

recovery: advantage of devaluing pound

A

made british exports to America cheaper and greatly reduced trade deficit between imports and exports

72
Q

recovery: by when was the balance of payments in surplus

A

1950

73
Q

recovery: what created another balance of payments crisis

A

Korean war

74
Q

recovery: Attlee gov successes in industry

A

kept interest rates, inflation and wage rates low

made it easier for firms to invest, expand and export

75
Q

recovery: what improvements were seen in agriculture

A

productivity improved, able to produce more home grown foods- keeping imports lower and helping balance of payments

76
Q

recovery: what proportion of new factories built 1945-51 were sited in formerly depressed areas

A

50%

77
Q

recovery: which slogan was used to make staple and new industries push into full production

A

‘export or die’

78
Q

recovery: how was labour able to keep down wages and costs

A

through arrangements with the trade unions

79
Q

recovery: why was the number of gov controls reduced between 1949-50

A

it was beginning to stifle enterprise

80
Q

nationalisation: what did the post war labour gov succeed in taking into public ownership between 1946 and 1951

A

20% of economic enterprises and employing 10% of workforce

81
Q

nationalisation: which areas of industry did the state mostly own/control

A

fuel and power production, transport, the steel industry and the bank of england

82
Q

nationalisation: which factors made the nationalisation of industry possible in a way that could never have been possible before

A

the state had already virtually nationalised key parts of British industry between 1939-45

83
Q

nationalisation: what was there now widespread belief in

A

the advantages of state planning, ownership and control. even amongst business people and middle classes

84
Q

nationalisation: what did nationalisation have to be pushed through parliament in face of strong opposition from

A

the Conservatives

85
Q

impact of nationalisation: the supply of what was expanded

A

electricity and gas

86
Q

impact of nationalisation: growth in

A

civil aviation, cable and wireless communication

87
Q

impact of nationalisation: electrification extended to

A

more and more remote parts of the country

88
Q

impact of nationalisation: coal output increased significantly between

A

1946-1951

89
Q

impact of nationalisation: state control ensured what met minimum standards

A

safety and working conditions

90
Q

impact of nationalisation: why did nationalisation cost a lot of money

A

private owners had to be compensated which cost £2700 million

91
Q

impact of nationalisation: how did it burden taxpayers

A

seriously run down, unprofitable industries which would have to be subsidised indefinitely eg coal and railways

92
Q

impact of nationalisation: why did some nationalised industries not benefit from state control

A

administrative system adopted by labour didn’t directly involve workers/consumers in the decision making and running of the great industries

93
Q

impact of nationalisation: examples of industries in competition with each other

A

gas and electricity

94
Q

impact of nationalisation: what was there improvement in for workers in nationalised industries

A

pay and conditions

95
Q

how radical was nationalisation: how was nationalisation viewed by right wing

A

dangerous policy introducing socialism into Britain

96
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: most nationalised industries survived in state ownership until 1980s

A

for

97
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: nationalisation, along with welfare state moved Britain towards becoming a collectivist society

A

for

98
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: british economy ceased to become entirely capitalist and instead became a mixed economy

A

for `

99
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: nationalisation was also a step towards a more socialist Britain in which industry would run for social need not private gain

A

for

100
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: most of industries nationalised after 1945 had a long history of state involvement and control

A

against

101
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: form of nationalisation chosen was based on the organisation used for public corporations that had been created by the national gov in the 1930s

A

against

102
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: socialist demands for workers control were ignored. nationalised industries run by managers and civil servant

A

against

103
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: most of industries nationalised tended to be unprofitable ones

A

against

104
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: private owners compensated and their assets not confiscated

A

against

105
Q

how radical was nationalisation: for or against: most industry remained in private hands

A

against

106
Q

how radical was nationalisation: evidence for combination of limited central planning and Keynesian economic being a success

A

became basis of economic policy until late 1970s