Full Description
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, significant question marks hung over the capacity of the world's wealthiest economies to sustain a long international conflict. This book goes beyond macroeconomic perspectives on war financing to show in highly granular detail how the war was financed in Britain, using previously unstudied data to explore at a societal level how this capital was raised. It offers a framework for understanding how economic and financial policy during wartime became instruments of capital-raising that were crucial to the eventual outcome of the first-ever global war and were not simply ancillary factors affecting military efforts.
Using rich archival sources from the Bank of England, the author explores the identities and demographics of the investors who bought bonds that financed Britain during the First World War. The book examines the different policies and strategies employed to bring investors into the war from across society, including different classes and genders, and demonstrates how the need to raise capital for Allied victory ultimately altered not only the distribution of income and capital in Britain but also the form in which it was held. The book also analyses Britain's war debt and re-financing efforts in this context, spanning a timeline from 1914 up until 1932. This book will be a fascinating read for scholars and students of economic, financial and military history.
Contents
Chapter 1: BRITAIN AS A CENTRE FOR GLOBAL FINANCE.- Chapter 2: HOW THE NEED TO PAY FOR WAR LED TO CREATION OF THE MODERN FISCAL STATE.- Chapter 3: THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH AND INCOME IN BRITAIN 1914.- Chapter 4: THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE OPENING OF THE FIRST FRONT IN THE 'BATTLE FOR CAPITAL'.- Chapter 5: BRITAIN IN THE FIRST YEAR OF WAR: THE OPENING OF THE SECOND FRONT IN THE BATTLE FOR CAPITAL- THE USE OF VOLUNTARY (SALES OF WAR LOAN) AND INVOLUNTARY (NEW TAXATION) TO RAISE CAPITAL FOR WAR.- Chapter 6: OPENING THE THIRD FRONT IN THE 'BATTLE FOR CAPITAL: DEFENDING STERLING AGAINST THE US DOLLAR.- Chapter 7: : INVESTORS IN WAR LOAN 1914-18; HOW WAS CAPITAL DISTRIBUTED AT THE OUTBREAK OF WAR AND WHO WERE THE BUYERS OF THE FIRST SAMPLE OF 3-1/2% WAR LOAN 1925-28? Chapter 8: EXPANDING THE THIRD FRONT IN THE 'BATTLE FOR CAPITAL'. DEFENDING STERLING AGAINST THE US DOLLAR.- Chapter 9: BUT LONG BEFORE DESPERATION ABOUT ITS CURRENCY EMERGED, BRITAIN RECOGNISED THAT THERE WAS AMPLE CAPITAL THAT IT COULD TAP AT HOME. SAVE! DON'T SPEND! THE EFFORT TO CAPTURE THE RISING EARNINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES AS A NEW GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO CRACK DOWN ON PROFITEERING AND FINALLY MAKES A DESPERATE EFFORT TO RAISE YET MORE CAPITAL VIA A NEW WAR LOAN.- Chapter 10: EXCHANGE RATE CURRENCY WOES TAKE CENTRE STAGE. PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCIERS OFFER TO STEP IN BY REFUSING TO SHIP GOLD OUT OF THE US.- Chapter 11:BLASTING OPEN THE SECOND FRONT WITH THE BIGGEST WAR LOAN EVER.- Chapter 12: MANAGING THE WARTIME ECONOMY: GOVERNMENT GETS SERIOUS ABOUT CRACKING DOWN ON PROFITEERING, EPD AND THE SECOND SAMPLE OF INVESTORS.- Chapter 13: THE WAR AFTER: 1919-32: THE EARLY POST WAR YEARS.- Chapter 14: WHO FORMED THE THIRD SAMPLE? Chapter 15: PAYING FOR WAR; BRITAIN'S FISCAL POSITION.- Chapter 16: REDUCING THE BURDEN OF WAR LOAN DEBT SERVICE - CONVERSION TO A 3-1/2% PERPETUAL AND THE END OF THE GOLD STANDARD IN BRITAIN.- Chapter 17: CONCLUSION; THE WAR AFTER.- Chapter 18: POSTSCRIPT - PAYING FOR THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
