ABSTRACT
In the course of the preceding chapters it became evident that the growth of several branches of the British economy slowed down, roughly from the 1870s onwards. It also became clear that in certain fields Britain lost the technological leadership which she formerly enjoyed. Finally, it was suggested right at the beginning of this work that the growth of the economy, taken as a whole, similarly lost impetus at the end of the nineteenth century. At that time, however, other advanced countries showed faster growth, so that the United States and Germany overtook England in industrial power, and the British lead in other spheres, e.g. income per head, was reduced. So one can consider the question of Britain’s economic decline (a relative decline, of course, for her production and wealth continued to grow in absolute terms), from two points of view, i.e. in relation to her own rate of growth during earlier decades and in relation to that of other countries.
