German Economy Essay

Germany has had many tumultuous events in its past, especially before and after World War II. Although Germany experienced turmoil before the start of the war, after the war, they decided to take a different approach to foreign policy and focused on rebuilding their economy as well as improving their skilled labor force. Now Germany has a stable economy and healthy and skilled workforce. The old saying: "German engineering" shows the caliber of artisanship involved in German manufacturing. They reduced their need to prove their military might in lieu for labor force development and reduction of foreign military interference. In a recent article by Kundnani, the writer details the determination of Germany to remain out of foreign affairs. "…it illustrates the strength of Germany's ongoing reluctance to use military force as a foreign-policy tool even in a multilateral context and to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe" (Kundnani, 2011, p. 31). This plays a crucial role in the economy of Germany as they did not have to and do not have to spend much on their military. United States exhausted a lot of their budget on military spending in order to conduct foreign policy overseas in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not the case for Germany. They opted to stay out of it. This is perhaps a direct consequence of WWII as Germany did not want to be...

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Many complained of poor living standards and unfair wages. They lacked proper training and education. Many in Germany were unhappy and sought to change their living conditions. It was because of their poor economy, Germans decided to begin conflict.
In chapter 2 of Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945, titled "Institutions and economic growth: Europe after World War II, Eichengreen explains Europe in general, including Germany, experienced high investment and a growth in exports. "Wage moderation stimulated both the supply of and demand for investment-demand making investment profitable, supply by making available the profits to finance it" (Crafts & Toniolo, 1996, p. 39). Because there was higher investment within the country, Germans were able to acquire a higher level of skill and apply that into producing higher quality products. They then attracted more buyers and export within Germany and other European countries increased. Within the decades after World War II, Germany saw some improvement with increased improvement later on in the 1990's after the Berlin wall came down.

Much of what happened in Germany following the war was a result…

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Brakman, S., Garretsen, H., & Schramm, M. (2004). The strategic bombing of German cities during World War II and its impact on city growth. Journal Of Economic Geography, 4(2), 201-218. doi:10.1093/jeg/4.2.201

Crafts, N., & Toniolo, G. (1996). Economic growth in Europe since 1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kundnani, H. (2011). Germany as a Geo-economic Power. The Washington Quarterly, 34(3), 31-45. doi:10.1080/0163660x.2011.587950

Maier, C. (1977). The politics of productivity: foundations of American international economic policy after World War II. International Organization, 31(04), 607. doi:10.1017/s0020818300018634


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