GERMANY MARSHALL PLAN

Chapter 4A. Character and Structure of the Economy

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany or Federal Republic)

possesses a highly industrialized and productive economy and in the early

1980s was usually ranked fourth among the industrial nations of the world.

In 1980 the total output of goods and services amounted to the equivalent of

US $826 billion, a per capita gross national product of US $13,410-some 16

percent above that of the United States. The population was cared for by

extensive and expensive social programs that had been in existence for about

a century. Economic growth depended almost completely on private initiative,

and management of the economy was largely by free market forces. Foreign

trade played a key role. Few natural resources and limited agricultural land

required large imports of food, raw materials, and manufactured goods. West

Germany was the world's largest importer of agricultural products. A

relatively small domestic market and the need to pay for imports required

a high level of exports, most of which were manufactured goods of high

quality and advanced technology. West German industry competed successfully

in world markets, and the deutsche mark remained one of the world's strongest

In the 1950s and 1960s the economy expanded rapidly, as

. . .
branches. Capacity in the steel industry in the Western zones, for example, was reduced by nearly 7 million tons or nearly one-third. In addition the breaking up of trusts and cartels was concentrated in banking, chemicals, and heavy industry. The three largest banks were re-formed into thirty institutions to dissolve their close relationship with the economy, particularly industry. The I.G. Farben chemical trust was broken into four companies. The major coal and steel combines were dissolved into many smaller units. The alterations of the structure and capacity of industry frequently ignored or intentionally broke up the intricate relationships that had been the basis for part of the efficiency and the competitive position of German products on world markets. The Allied efforts to break up the German industrial structure clearly delayed the country's economic recovery efforts. Apart from the actual measures introduced, there was the prolonged uncertainty about new twists that deindustrialization policies might take that restrained investments. In some industrial branches, limits on capacity and production were not lifted until 1955. In addition the denazification process temporarily removed some managers
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Federal Republic, EC-see Glossary, West German, American British, World War, West Germany, Soziale Marktwirtschaft, West Berlin, Marshall Plan, French American, world war, west german, market economy, economic policy, federal republic, federal government, political parties, economic policies, bonn republic, west germany, federal republic germany, world war ii, free market economy, chapter 4a character, 4a character structure,
Approximate Word count = 5347
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

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