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The Marshall Plan: History's Most Successful Structural Adjustment Program

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Author Info
J. Bradford De Long
Barry Eichengreen

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Abstract

The post-World War II reconstruction of Western Europe was one of the greatest economic policy and foreign policy successes of this century. "Folk wisdom" assigns a major role in successful reconstruction to the Marshall Plan: the program that transferred some $13 billion to Europe in the years 1948-51. We examine the economic effects of the Marshall Plan, and find that it was not large enough to have significantly accelerated recovery by financing investment, aiding the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, or easing commodity bottlenecks. We argue, however, that the Marshall Plan did play a major role in setting the stage for post-World War II Western Europe's rapid growth. The conditions attached to Marshall Plan aid pushed European political economy in a direction that left its post World War II "mixed economies" with more "market" and less "controls" in the mix.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 3899.

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Date of creation: Nov 1991
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3899

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  1. Broadberry, Stephen N, 1991. "Why was Unemployment in Postwar Britain So Low," CEPR Discussion Papers 541, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Casella, Alessandra & Eichengreen, Barry, 1991. "Halting Inflation in Italy and France After World War II," CEPR Discussion Papers 594, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Alberto Alesina & Allan Drazen, 1989. "Why are Stabilizations Delayed?," NBER Working Papers 3053, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Maier, Charles S., 1977. "The politics of productivity: foundations of American international economic policy after World War II," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(04), pages 607-633, September. [Downloadable!]
  5. Glyn, A. & Hughes, A. & Lipietz, A. & Singh, A., 1988. "The Rise And Fall Of The Golden Age," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 884, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
  6. Dumke, Rolf H, 1990. "Reassessing the Wirtschaftswunder: Reconstruction and Postwar Growth in West Germany in an International Context," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 52(4), pages 451-91, Special I.
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  1. Alesina, Alberto, 1992. "Political models of macroeconomic policy and fiscal reform," Policy Research Working Paper Series 970, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. Barry Eichengreen, 1992. "Three Perspectives on the Bretton Woods System," NBER Working Papers 4141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Joan R. Roses & Nikolaus Wolf, 2008. "Prosperity and depression in the european economy and during interwar years (1913-1950) : an introduction," Working Papers in Economic History wp08-10, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Historia Económica e Instituciones. [Downloadable!]
  4. Makoto Yano & Jeffrey B. Nugent, 1999. "Aid, Nontraded Goods, and the Transfer Paradox in Small Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 431-449, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Knack, Stephen & Rahman, Aminur, 2004. "Donor fragmentation and bureaucratic quality in aid recipients," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3186, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Arslanalp, Serkan & Henry, Peter B., 2003. "The World's Poorest Countries: Debt Relief or Aid?," Research Papers 1809, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
  7. Claessens, Stijn & Oks, Daniel & van Wijnbergen, Sweder, 1993. "Interest rates, growth, and external debt : the macroeconomic impact of Mexico's Brady deal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1147, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Henry, Peter B. & Arslanalp, Serkan, 2003. "Helping the Poor to Help Themselves: Debt Relief or Aid?," Research Papers 1838, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Robert B. Barsky & J. Bradford De Long, 1992. "Why Does the Stock Market Fluctuate?," NBER Working Papers 3995, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Crafts, Nicholas & Toniolo, Gianni, 2008. "European Economic Growth, 1950-2005: An Overview," CEPR Discussion Papers 6863, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. J. Bradford De Long, . "Productivity and Machinery Investment: A Long Run Look 1870-1980," J. Bradford De Long's Working Papers _118, University of California at Berkeley, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Michael D. Bordo & David C. Wheelock, 2006. "When do stock market booms occur? the macroeconomic and policy environments of 20th century booms," Working Papers 2006-051, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. [Downloadable!]
  13. J. Bradford De Long & Lawrence H. Summers, . "Macroeconomic Policy and Long-Run Growth," J. Bradford De Long's Working Papers _113, University of California at Berkeley, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
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