ABSTRACT
In the mid-1890s the international economy recovered from a last deep depression. Then it entered into a new phase. Economic booms became more buoyant, depressions milder, and over the years economic growth regained a higher average level. The main cause was the far-reaching transformations in industry started in the troubled decades before. Concentration limited cut-throat competition and created room for innovations that tightened entrepreneurial control over labour and raised productivity. New industries developed in steel, chemicals, electrical appliances and automobiles. This restructuring process continued, led by the United States and Germany. In the United Kingdom, economic growth remained sluggish, while in the Netherlands, a modern industrial take-off finally materialized during this period.
