Brief description
This module examines the performance of the British economy from 1870 until 1990, a period of transition from domination of the world economy to Britain being one among many industrialised economies. This relative decline coincided with rapid economic growth and ever improving material standards. However, Britain's major competitors experienced even faster growth and were able to overtake Britain in many performance indicators, particularly in the years after the Second World War. The first section of the module covers the years until 1913 and examines Britain's maturity. Part two focuses on wartime upheaval, depression and recovery between 1914 and 1945. The final section assesses Britain's changing position in the world economy as well as developments in economic and social policy since 1945.