Social insurance and allied services : memorandum on the Beveridge Report
1943-02-10 1943 1940s 24 pages 17. (52) It therefore seems beyond controversy that, as a result of these circumstances, this country will, after the war, have to increase its pre-war export trade very substantially - possibly by as much as £200 millions a year - if it is to be able to bal...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
|---|---|
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
10 February 1943
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/FAC487C3-52A7-42F2-9B12-B087D01F464E http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B30E9CB5-D186-4767-BA93-12A6958C27A9 |
| Summary: | 1943-02-10
1943
1940s
24 pages
17. (52) It therefore seems beyond controversy that, as a result of these circumstances, this country will, after the war, have to increase its pre-war export trade very substantially - possibly by as much as £200 millions a year - if it is to be able to balance its trading account and pay for the raw materials which keep its factories and employment going, and also pay for a large part of the food which sustains its population. (53) The war has shown the extent to which our agricultural production can be increased and doubtless our agricultural production will continue to be greater than it was before this war, but we can never hope, on this small island, to produce enough to feed our population of 46 millions on their pre-war standards. This country will therefore still be essentially dependent on being able to purchase from other countries, not only a considerable part of its food, but also the great bulk of the raw materials which do not exist in this country and which it must have before its factories can convert them into manufactured articles for sale abroad and also for home consumption. (54) This country's dependence on its ability to purchase from abroad the raw materials and the food which it needs, lies at the very root of our whole life, and controls our employing capacity more than it does that of any other country in the world. As pointed out in our evidence before the "Beveridge" Committee, 93% of Great Britain's employed population before this war had to find employment in Industry and allied Services, and only 7% were engaged in Agriculture; whereas the approximate percentage of the population engaged in Agriculture was in U.S.A. 20%, in Germany 30%, in France 40%, and in Japan and Italy 50%. Further, this country is more densely populated than any other country - it is 15 times as densely populated as the U.S.A. - and the extent of its dependence on its foreign trade is illustrated by the fact that, before the present war, the cost of the food and raw materials which we had to import represented fully £14 per head of the population, whereas the approximate figure per head of the population in other countries was £5 in the case of France and Germany, £2 in the ease of U.S.A. and Italy, and £1 in the case of Japan. (55)/
200/B/3/2/C216/5/50 |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | TEXT |