This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

How occupied France financed its own exploitation in World War II

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Filippo Occhino () (Department of Economics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick.)
Kim Oosterlinck () (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels.)
Eugène N. White () (Department of Economics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick.)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The occupation payments made by France to Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1944 represent one of the largest recorded international transfers and contributed significantly to financing the overall German war effort. Using a neoclassical growth model that incorporates essential features of the occupied economy and the postwar stabilization, we assess the welfare costs of French policies that funded payments to Germany. Occupation payments required a 16 percent reduction of consumption for twenty years, with the draft of labor to Germany and wage and price controls adding substantially to this burden. Vichy’s postwar debt overhang would have demanded large budget surpluses; but inflation, which erupted after Liberation, reduced the debt well below its steady state level and redistributed the adjustment costs. The Marshall Plan played only a minor direct role, and international credits helped to substantially lower the nation’s burden.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.solvay.edu/EN/Research/Bernheim/documents/wp06012.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: First version, 2006
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Université Libre de Bruxelles, Solvay Business School, Centre Emile Bernheim (CEB) in its series Working Papers CEB with number 06-012.RS.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 56 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:06-012

Contact details of provider:
Postal: CP145/01, 21, avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles
Phone: +32 (0)2 650.48.64
Fax: +32 (0)2 650.41.88
Email:
Web page: http://www.solvay.edu/EN/Research/Bernheim/index.php
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (CEB).

Related research
Keywords: World War Two France Macroeconomy Economic History Exploitation.

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations
N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, and Regulation

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Mankiw, N. Gregory, 1987. "The optimal collection of seigniorage : Theory and evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 327-341, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Ohanian, Lee E, 1997. "The Macroeconomic Effects of War Finance in the United States: World War II and the Korean War," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(1), pages 23-40, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kim Oosterlinck, 2003. "The Bond Market and the Legitimacy of Vichy France," Working Papers CEB 03-003.RS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Solvay Business School, Centre Emile Bernheim (CEB). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? The yearly budget of IDEAS is exactly $0: it relies entirely on volunteer work.

This page was last updated on 2008-8-20.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.