ABSTRACT
During the period 1914-39, there was clear evidence of absolute de cline in the output of a number of staple industries and of an overall national economic performance that compared poorly with that of other countries during the 1920s. On the other hand, ‘new’ and ser vice industries, mainly serving the home market, expanded substantially, and during the 1930s the British economy appeared to perform better than that of competitor nations. Historians have de bated a number of issues concerning these developments. Were the problems of staple industries inevitable, caused or exacerbated by the ‘Great War’, or did they result from entrepreneurial or managerial weakness? How impressive was the performance of ‘new’ industries; could it have been better? How should overall economic growth be rated? To what extent did government policies, on debt reduction, re turning to and subsequently abandoning the gold standard, tariffs and any industrial strategy, contribute to the overall picture?
