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British Relative Economic Decline in the Aftermath of German Unification

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  • Crafts, Nicholas

    (University of Sussex)

Abstract

From 1871 to 1913, German economic growth was faster than that of the UK. This represented a successful catch-up of the leading European economy but there was still a significant productivity gap at the end of the period. Slower UK growth should be seen as largely unavoidable but there was a serious weakness in the national innovation system. On the whole, the greater openness of the British economy was advantageous and a move to protectionist policies would have been damaging. The expansion of German industrial production and exports only had a small negative impact on UK national income.

Suggested Citation

  • Crafts, Nicholas, 2020. "British Relative Economic Decline in the Aftermath of German Unification," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1295, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:1295
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    Keywords

    economic growth ; productivity performance ; trade rivalry ; Victorian failure JEL codes: N13 ; O52;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations

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