IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/sfb649/sfb649dp2008-068.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Understanding West German economic growth in the 1950s

Author

Listed:
  • Eichengreen, Barry
  • Ritschl, Albrecht

Abstract

We evaluate explanations for why Germany grew so quickly in the 1950s. The recent literature has emphasized convergence, structural change and institutional shake-up while minimizing the importance of the postwar shock. We show that this shock and its consequences were more important than neoclassical convergence and structural change in explaining the rapid growth of the West German economy in the 1950s. We find little support for the hypothesis of institutional shakeup. This suggests a different interpretation of post-World War II German economic growth than features in much of the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Eichengreen, Barry & Ritschl, Albrecht, 2008. "Understanding West German economic growth in the 1950s," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2008-068, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:sfb649:sfb649dp2008-068
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/25311/1/590225650.PDF
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Broadberry, S. N. & Crafts, N. F. R., 1992. "Britain's Productivity Gap in the 1930s: Some Neglected Factors," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(3), pages 531-558, September.
    2. Abramovitz, Moses, 1986. "Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 385-406, June.
    3. Gillingham,John, 1991. "Coal, Steel, and the Rebirth of Europe, 1945–1955," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521400596, Enero-Abr.
    4. Broadberry, Stephen N., 1993. "Manufacturing and the Convergence Hypothesis: What the Long-Run Data Show," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(4), pages 772-795, December.
    5. Paul M. Romer, 1987. "Crazy Explanations for the Productivity Slowdown," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1987, Volume 2, pages 163-210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Buchheim, Christoph & Scherner, Jonas, 2006. "The Role of Private Property in the Nazi Economy: The Case of Industry," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(2), pages 390-416, June.
    7. Lindlar, Ludger & Holtfrerich, Carl-Ludwig, 1997. "Geography, exchange rates and trade structures: Germany's export performance since the 1950s," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 217-246, August.
    8. Booth, Alan & Melling, Joseph & Dartmann, Christoph, 1997. "Institutions and Economic Growth: The Politics of Productivity in West Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, 1945–1955," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(2), pages 416-444, June.
    9. Temin, Peter, 2002. "The Golden Age of European growth reconsidered," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 3-22, April.
    10. Temple, Jonathan, 2001. "Structural Change and Europe's Golden Age," CEPR Discussion Papers 2861, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Price, Simon & Sanders, David, 1994. "Economic Competence, Rational Expectations and Government Popularity in Post-War Britain," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, University of Manchester, vol. 62(3), pages 296-312, September.
    12. Ghosal, Vivek, 1991. "Demand Uncertainty and the Capital-Labor Ratio: Evidence from the U.S. Manufacturing Sector," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(1), pages 157-161, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kilian Huber, 2021. "Are Bigger Banks Better? Firm-Level Evidence from Germany," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(7), pages 2023-2066.
    2. Madsen, Jakob B., 2010. "Growth and capital deepening since 1870: Is it all technological progress?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 641-656, June.
    3. Charlotte Bartels & Simon Jäger & Natalie Obergruber, 2024. "Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Inheritance Rules for Land," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(664), pages 3137-3172.
    4. Feld, Lars P. & Köhler, Ekkehard A. & Nientiedt, Daniel, 2021. "The German Anti-Keynes? On Walter Eucken’S Macroeconomics," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 548-563, December.
    5. Gregori Galofré-Vilà & Christopher M Meissner & Martin McKee & David Stuckler, 2019. "The economic consequences of the 1953 London Debt Agreement," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 23(1), pages 1-29.
    6. Eric Bengtsson & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2018. "Wages, income distribution and economic growth in Scandinavia," Working Papers PKWP1811, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    7. Feld, Lars P. & Nientiedt, Daniel, 2023. "Examining the ordoliberal tradition in classical liberal thought," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 23/5, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    8. Myszczyszyn Janusz, 2021. "Development of Transport as a Factor of the Economic Miracle (Wirtschaftswunder) of West Germany," Studia Historiae Oeconomicae, Sciendo, vol. 39(1), pages 189-215, December.
    9. Braun, Sebastian Till & Weber, Henning, 2021. "How do regional labor markets adjust to immigration? A dynamic analysis for post-war Germany," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    10. repec:zbw:rwirep:0345 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Duarte Pablo, 2018. "Monetary Policy, Privileges and Economic Development: Ordoliberal Lessons for the EMU," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 69(1), pages 135-152, July.
    12. Braun, Sebastian & Kvasnicka, Michael, 2014. "Immigration and structural change: Evidence from post-war Germany," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 253-269.
    13. repec:rnp:ecopol:ep1460 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Arnaud Chevalier & Benjamin Elsner & Andreas Lichter & Nico Pestel, 2018. "Immigrant Voters, Taxation and the Size of the Welfare State," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 994, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    15. Huber, Kilian Maria, 2020. "Are bigger banks better? Firm-level evidence from Germany," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121861, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Sebastian Braun & Michael Kvasnicka, 2012. "Immigration and Structural Change – Evidence from Post-war Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0345, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    17. Alexiou, Constantinos, 2022. "Evaluating the falling rate of profit in the context of the UK economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 84-94.
    18. Focacci, Chiara Natalie & Perez, Carlota, 2022. "The importance of education and training policies in supporting technological revolutions: A comparative and historical analysis of UK, US, Germany, and Sweden (1830–1970)," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. repec:osf:osfxxx:bs3w5_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. repec:rnp:ecopol:ep1450 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:ehl:wpaper:22304 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Eichengreen, Barry & Ritschl, Albrecht, 2008. "Understanding West German economic growth in the 1950s," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 22304, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Alan Booth, 2003. "The manufacturing failure hypothesis and the performance of British industry during the long boom," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 56(1), pages 1-33, February.
    4. Kelly, Ross, 2025. "The statistical underestimation of structural modernisation in Europe’s postwar golden age," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 127148, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Bergeaud, A. & Cette, G. & Lecat, R., 2015. "Productivity trends from 1890 to 2012 in advanced countries," Rue de la Banque, Banque de France, issue 07, June..
    6. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Pintea, Mihaela I., 2009. "A quantitative exploration of the Golden Age of European growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1437-1450, July.
    7. Crafts, Nicholas & Toniolo, Gianni, 2008. "European Economic Growth, 1950-2005: An Overview," CEPR Discussion Papers 6863, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2007. "Information Technology and the G7 Economies," NBER Chapters, in: Hard-to-Measure Goods and Services: Essays in Honor of Zvi Griliches, pages 325-350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Greiner, Alfred & Semmler, Willi, 2001. "Externalities of investment and endogenous growth: theory and time series evidence," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 295-310, September.
    10. Angus Maddison, 1997. "Causal Influences on Productivity Performance 1820–1992: A Global Perspective," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 325-359, November.
    11. Robert J. Gordon, 2004. "Two Centuries of Economic Growth: Europe Chasing the American Frontier," NBER Working Papers 10662, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Ben-David, Dan & Loewy, Michael B, 1995. "Free Trade and Long-Run Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 1183, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. George Chouliarakis & Mónica Correa-López, 2009. "Catching-up, then falling behind: Comparative productivity growth between Spain and the United Kingdom, 1950-2004," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 131, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    14. repec:ehl:wpaper:127148 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Gianfranco Di Vaio & Kerstin Enflo, 2009. "Did Globalization Lead to Segmentation? Identifying Cross-Country Growth Regimes in the Long-Run," Discussion Papers 09-08, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    16. Stephen Broadberry, 2024. "British Economic Growth and Development," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 951-986, Springer.
    17. Crafts, Nicholas & O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2014. "Twentieth Century Growth*This research has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no. 249546.," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 263-346, Elsevier.
    18. Crafts, Nicholas, 2012. "Western Europe’s Growth Prospects: an Historical Perspective," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 71, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    19. Aijun Guo & Daiwei Jiang & Fanglei Zhong & Xiaojiang Ding & Xiaoyu Song & Qingping Cheng & Yongnian Zhang & Chunlin Huang, 2019. "Prediction of Technological Change under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Regional Differences: A Case Study of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency Changes in Chinese Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-19, December.
    20. Ben-David, Dan & Loewy, Michael B, 1998. "Free Trade, Growth, and Convergence," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 143-170, June.
    21. Robert J. Gordon, 2000. "Interpreting the "One Big Wave" in U.S. Long-Term Productivity Growth," NBER Working Papers 7752, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Alessandro Nuvolari & Emanuele Russo, 2019. "Technical progress and structural change: a long-term view," LEM Papers Series 2019/17, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; productivity; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:sfb649:sfb649dp2008-068. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sohubde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.