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Topic: England vs USA pressings

31st Dec 2019, 8:33 AM
	KeithS SUBS Member since Dec 2009 12492 Points Moderator	Decca was doing its bit for post war Britain's economy which was struggling From Wikipedia Immediately after the war in the Pacific ended, the U.S. halted Lend-Lease, but did give the UK a long-term low-interest loan of US$4.33bn. The winter of 1946–1947 proved to be very harsh, with curtailed production and shortages of coal, which again affected the economy so that by August 1947, when convertibility was due to begin, the economy was not as strong as it needed to be. When the Labour Government enacted convertibility, there was a run on Sterling, as pounds were traded for dollars. This damaged the British economy and within weeks convertibility was abandoned. By 1949, the British pound was seen to be over valued and had to be devalued. The US dollar had become the world's premier currency. The major economic priority of post-war Britain was to raise exports to fund he UK's dollar deficit. This required the extension of rationing, as British goods and produce were prioritized for export markets. Unlike Continental European countries, where rationing was abandoned within a few years of the wars' end, Britain actually tightened rationing restrictions and didn't fully abandon them until 1954.[209] The U.S. began Marshall Plan grants (mostly grants with a few loans) that pumped $3.3 billion into the economy and encouraged businessmen to modernize their approach to management.[210] Marshall Aid, however, failed to have the desired effect of modernizing industry and stimulating the economy, because 97% of the funds were used to service British debt repayments. This left the UK at a comparative disadvantage to rivals like France and West Germany, who were able to invest the money directly into industry and infrastructure, creating more competitive, efficient economies in the long-term