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The Paradox of Planning in World War II

Author

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  • Hugh Rockoff

    (Rutgers)

Abstract

According to the standard accounts of the mobilization of resources in the United States during WWII, things went badly in the beginning because the agencies in charge were given insufficient authority and were mismanaged. But then in 1943 the story continues, the War Production Board installed the famous Controlled Materials Plan which solved the major problems and turned disaster into triumph. A reexamination of the Plan in the light of information on munitions production, however, reveals that the Plan was too little and too late to account for the success of the mobilization. One implication is that pecuniary incentives may have played a larger role than has been recognized.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugh Rockoff, 1996. "The Paradox of Planning in World War II," Departmental Working Papers 199513, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:rut:rutres:199513
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    File URL: http://www.sas.rutgers.edu/virtual/snde/wp/1995-13.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Controls; World War II;

    JEL classification:

    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations
    • N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation

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