The German slump: politics and economics, 1924-1936

The collapse of the German economy in the interwar years provides the most dramatic case-study of a democracy faced with the major economic problems--world recession, instability in international finance, management and labor problems, and unemployment--which resulted in the advent of Nazism. This is the first survey of the German "slump" in English and the first in any language since important archives became available. James argues that long-term weaknesses caused by structural rigidity, increasingly conservative investment choices, poor labor relations, high taxation, and an inefficient agrarian sector led to economic and political instability. This study shows the connections between long-term weaknesses and particular policy responses in a crucial period of 20th-century European history. The Political Development Of Weimar Germany -- Public Finance -- The Reich -- The Lander -- The Communes -- The Structure Of Industry: Stagnation And Retardation -- Rick Avoidance Through The Organised Economy? -- The Chronology Of Growth And Change -- Conclusion: The Mania About The Rationalisation Mania -- The Politics Of Business In Weimar Germany -- Business Attitudes -- Industrial Corporatism And The Course Of Political And Economic Development -- Labour Problems: Consequences Or Causes Of The Stagnant Economy? -- Wages And The National Economy -- Wages And Technology -- The Structure Of Wages -- The Origins Of State Intervention In The Labour Market -- The Development Of Wages After The Stabilisation Bruning's Wage Revolution -- Agriculture -- The Legacy Of The Kaiserreich, War, And Inflation Stabilisation Problems -- Agrarian Radicalism: The Response To The Farmers' Crisis -- The Government's Response: Tariff Increases Or Debt Reduction -- The Banking Crisis -- The Banking Crisis And Business -- The Story Of The Crisis -- Coping With The Bank Collapse -- The Implications Of The Banking Crisis -- Economists And The Depression -- A Nazi Recovery? -- Hitler's Economic Programme -- Agriculture -- The Mittelstand -- Labour In The Third Reich -- The State Budget -- Nazi Trade Policy -- Germany's Debts -- Innovation And Conservatism In Recovery. Harold James. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [421]-455. Preface Contents List of Tables Abbreviations I. Introduction II. The Political Development of Weimar Germany III. Public Finance IV. The Structure of Industry: Stagnation and Retardation V. The Politics of Business in Weimar Germany VI. Labour Problems: Consequences or Causes of the Stagnant Economy? VII. Agriculture VIII. The Banking Crisis IX. Economists and the Depression X. A Nazi Recovery? Bibliography Index In this survey of the German slump the author argues that it was difficult for Weimar's system to provide solutions to long-term weaknesses caused by structural rigidification and increasingly conservative investment choices, poor labour relations, high taxation, and an inefficient agrarian sector.