ABSTRACT

A first glance at French statistics since 1945 might lead to the conclusion that the mid-1970s mark a watershed. Fourastié called the period from 1945 to 1975 ‘Les Trentes Glorieuses’, asserting that those ‘golden years’ had witnessed greater changes in France than the preceding three centuries. Since then, however, the performance of the French economy has failed to match those achievements, as national income growth slowed down and unemployment rose markedly (Table 17.1). It would, however, be oversimplified to periodize post-war economic history in only two phases, since a closer look at economic policies and performance reveals five phases, which are analysed in the main part of the chapter. This discussion is complemented by a case study of innovations in economic policy making, brought about by the Monnet Plan in the immediate post-war years. In the concluding section it will be argued that the most useful insights about France’s complex economic development are provided by theories of internationalization and the new institutionalism. Growth, inflation and unemployment in France, 1945–94

Period

Average annual change, per cent

Unemployment b (per cent rate)

GDP

GDP per head

Prices a

1945–52

13.0

11.9

30.6

2.2 c

1952–58

4.5

3.6

3.3

2.1

1958–73

5.3

4.3

4.6

1.9

1973–83

2.2

1.7

11.2

5.7 d

1983–94

2.0

1.4

3.6 e

10.0 f

1950–73

5.0

4.0

5.0

2.0

1973–94

2.1

1.6

7.3 g

7.9 h

Notes:

Consumer price index;

period average of annual unemployment rates (per cent of labour force);

1950–52;

1974–83;

1983–93;

1984–93;

1973–94;

1974–93.

Sources: A. Maddison, Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development (Oxford, 1991); A. Maddison, Monitoring the World Economy, 1820–1992 (Paris, 1995)