The rate of profit and economic stagnation in the United States economy

1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-174
Author(s):  
Fred Moseley
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Real Wages ◽  
Debt Burden ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
United States Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War ◽  
Rate Of Profit

AbstractIn the first thirty years after World War II, the US economy performed very well. The rate of growth averaged 4—5%, the rate of unemployment was seldom above 5%, inflation was almost non-existent (1—2%), and the living standards of workers improved steadily. These were the ‘good old days'. However, this long period of expansion and prosperity ended in the 1970s. Since then, both the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation have been much higher than before, and the average real wages of workers (i.e. the purchasing power of wages) have declined some 20%. Productivity growth has also slowed down and the debt burden of both capitalist enterprises and the Federal government has increased dramatically. It is in this sense that we may refer to the ‘economic crisis’ of the US economy over the last two decades. This crisis has certainly not been as severe as the Great Depression of the 1930s, but the economic performance has been significantly worse than in the early post-war period.

World War II Fiscal Policies and the End of the Great Depression

1994 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 850-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Vernon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Great Depression ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Policies ◽  
World War ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
United States Economy

The United States economy completed its recovery from the Great Depression in 1942, restoring full-employment output in that year after 12 years of below-full-employment performance. Fiscal policies were not the most important factor in the 1933 through 1940 phase of the recovery, but they became the most important factor after 1940, when the recovery was less than half-complete. World War II fiscal policies were, then, instrumental in the overall restoration of full-employment performance.

scholarly journals The problem of American Loans and Credits for Czechoslovakia in 1945–1948

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-81
Author(s):  
A. V. Zorin
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Financial Policy ◽  
World War ◽  
Department Of State ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Post War ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
Made In

The article is devoted to one of the aspects of the US European policy after World War II: the issue of loans and credits to affected countries. Using the example of Czechoslovakia, the author tries to answer a number of important questions: did Washington have a sound financial and economic policy towards this country, what goals did it pursue, what were its results? The study is based on the US Department of State archive documents and papers of the American ambassador to Czechoslovakia L.A. Steinhardt. The US financial policy towards Czechoslovakia in the early post-war years was the subject of intense debate in the United States. The author reveals evidence of serious disagreement between economic and political divisions of the State Department about providing of financial assistance to Prague, its size and terms of lending. Particular attention is paid to Steingardt’s position and his attempts to determine American loans and credits to Prague by upholding the property interests of American citizens. These disagreements hindered the development of a single thoughtful course regarding the Czechoslovak Republic and complicated diplomatic relations with Prague; negotiations on the allocation of large loans for the economic recovery of the Czechoslovak Republic dragged on. A fundamental role in the establishment of a new US political course had Secretary of State James Byrnes’ decision, made in the fall of 1946, on the inadmissibility of providing assistance to countries that have taken anti-American positions. This approach was finally entrenched after the Communists coup in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, when the country entered the Soviet sphere of influence. The article concludes that the post-war US policy was not distinguished by integrity and thoughtfulness.

scholarly journals Chinese Immigration during the 1800s in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Guo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Chinese Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
The West ◽  
Academic Factors ◽  
Chinese Exclusion ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Exclusion Act

The first wave of Chinese immigration was between 1849 to 1882, and 110,000 Chinese immigrants had settled on the west coast of the US, attracted by “Gold Mountain” in California and the large employment of railroad workers (Hsieh). When some anti-immigration acts passed, especially the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which banned Chinese immigration for ten years, only certain documented immigrants were allowed to come to America (Carlin). The Chinese Exclusion Act was not repealed until 1943 when the US need a smooth relationship with China in World War II (Ashabranner). Although the Immigration Act of 1965 continuously had a restrictive impact on Chinese immigrants, productive Chinese immigrants made great contributions to the US economy and politics in a large number of industries and business. One example is building the long railroad which allowed communications between the West and the East, and unified the country after the Civil War. They also brought their cultures to the add to diversity in the United States (Documentary :Silent Chinese laborers in the US). As time went on, more and more Chinese started their new lives in the land which across the Pacific Ocean from their hometowns because of political, economic, and academic factors (Hsieh).

Lessons of World War II and Strategic Planning of the Big Three (1945–1949)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-84
Author(s):  
I. E. Magadeev
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Far East ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War

The paper examines how military and political leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain assessed in the first post-war years and in the face of emerging bipolar world order the lessons of World War II, how the latter influenced their strategic planning and forecasts with the emergence of nuclear weapons. The author outlines the key features of this period (1945–1949), including still fresh memories of the unprecedented destruction and losses of the past war, the US ‘nuclear monopoly’, and the absence of a system for nuclear deterrence. The paper provides a systematic comparison of lessons from the past war, learnt by the Soviet, the US and British establishment, identifies similarities and differences between them. The author concludes that WWII was perceived by the political and military leaders of that time as a model of the eventual ‘great war’ in the future, which almost certainly would be ‘total’ and ‘global’ in scope and would demand both thorough preparations during the peacetime and the militarization of civil life. Indeed, the experience of WWII had greatly influenced the strategic and operational planning in the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in 1945–1949. Moscow prepared to face the potential aggression on its Western borders or in the Far East in order to avoid the mistakes of 1941. In Washington the decisionmakers acknowledged the Soviet superiority in conventional weapons and didn’t exclude the possibility that the Soviet Army could quickly establish control over the Western Europe and that the US military would have to retake it in a ‘new Operation Overlord’. The pessimistic outlook of the ‘defense of the Rhine’ was also shared in London, and the British military planned to evacuate the troops to the British Isles (‘shadow of Dunkirk’) and to focus on strategic bombing of the USSR and its allies. Even the appearance of nuclear weapons, that would dramatically alter the strategic context in the following years, played a relatively minor role in 1945–1949. The author concludes that the shadow of World War II and its lessons had a long-lasting effect on the post-war international relations.

Trade Policy in American Economic History

2018 ◽  
pp. 304-324
Author(s):  
Doug Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Trade Policy ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foreign Competition ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The North ◽  
The Us

This chapter reviews the evolution of US foreign trade and trade policy from the colonial period to the present. International trade has been a small but important part of the US economy throughout the country’s history. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to levy import duties. The use of this power has been extremely controversial ever since, with the political debate revolving over whether tariffs on imports should be high or low. This debate has pitted export-oriented producers against domestic producers facing foreign competition. After the Smoot Hawley tariff of 1930, which coincided with the Great Depression, protectionism was given a bad name and the United States began to turn to reciprocal trade agreements with other countries. The led to the formation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 and later agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993.

scholarly journals Transformations of the US European Policy in the 2nd Half of the 20th Century

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Marharyta Lymar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
European Integration ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Interest ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Post War ◽  
Eastern European Countries

The article deals with the European aspects of the US foreign policy in the 2nd half of the 20th century. It also includes studies of the transatlantic relations of the described period and the exploration of an American influence on European integration processes. It is determined that the United States has demonstrated itself as a partner of the Western governments in the post-war reconstruction and further creation of an area of US security and prosperity. At the same time, it is noted that the American presidents have differently shaped their administrations’ policies towards Europe. The greatest supporter of the European integration processes was President Eisenhower. Among other things, the US President believed that Europe would become a key ally of the United States, thus, he considered the union of Sweden, Greece, Spain and Yugoslavia as a solid foundation for building a “United States of Europe”. After Eisenhower administration, European affairs, to a lesser extent, were taken up by such Presidents as Johnson, Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Showing no personal interest, Kennedy, Nixon and Bush-Sr. were forced to support the transatlantic dialogue, understanding the inevitability of European integration and the need for the United States to cooperate with the new consolidated actor. The United States aimed to strengthen its position in the European space, moving to that purpose by using NATO mechanisms and applying the policies of American protectionism against the communist threat. The main competitor of the United States for strengthening national positions in Europe was France led by General de Gaulle, who believed that the affairs of Europe should be resolved by European governments without the American intervention. However, NATO continued to serve as a springboard for the U.S. involvement in European affairs. At the end of the 20th century, through the close links between the EU and NATO, the USA received new allies from Central and Eastern European countries. It is concluded that after the end of World War II, Europe needed an assistance that the United States willingly provided in exchange for the ability to participate in European issues, solving and partly controlling the integration processes. The study found that, despite the varying degree of the American interest in transatlantic affairs, Europe has consistently been remaining a zone of national interest for the United States.

Kalecki and the Determinants of the Profit Rate in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-587
Author(s):  
Erdogan Bakir ◽  
Al Campbell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Profit Rate ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Rate Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Rate Of Profit ◽  
Insight Into

The Weisskopfian approach has dominated empirical studies of the US rate of profit for the last thirty-five years. Forty-five years earlier, Michal Kalecki developed a different frame suitable for empirical profit rate studies, which had the potential to give different, but complementary, insight into the profit rate analysis based on the Weisskopfian approach. This paper first presents a development of the Kaleckian frame. It then applies this frame to the US economy and presents some preliminary empirical results.

The Unassailable Self: Freud's Image Among Post-war American Intellectuals

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Jenness
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
External Force ◽  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Human Being ◽  
World War ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Way

This paper explores the way American intellectuals depicted Sigmund Freud during the peak of popularity and prestige of psychoanalysis in the US, roughly the decade and a half following World War II. These intellectuals insisted upon the unassailability of Freud's mind and personality. He was depicted as unsusceptible to any external force or influence, a trait which was thought to account for Freud's admirable comportment as a scientist, colleague and human being. This post-war image of Freud was shaped in part by the Cold War anxiety that modern individuality was imperilled by totalitarian forces, which could only be resisted by the most rugged of selves. It was also shaped by the unique situation of the intellectuals themselves, who were eager to position themselves, like the Freud they imagined, as steadfastly independent and critical thinkers who would, through the very clarity of their thought, lead America to a more robust democracy.

Military Subsidization of Human Capital and Gender Stratification in the US Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 048661342098262
Author(s):  
Tyler Saxon
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Gender Stratification ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Capital Development ◽  
The Military

In the United States, the military is the primary channel through which many are able to obtain supports traditionally provided by the welfare state, such as access to higher education, job training, employment, health care, and so on. However, due to the nature of the military as a highly gendered institution, these social welfare functions are not as accessible for women as they are for men. This amounts to a highly gender-biased state spending pattern that subsidizes substantially more human capital development for men than for women, effectively reinforcing women’s subordinate status in the US economy. JEL classification: B54, B52, Z13

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