The Economics of the Second World War: Seventy-Five Years On

May 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe, a defining moment in modern history which signalled the beginning of the end of years of bloody conflict that left a world fragmented. The scale of mobilisation of all sectors of the economy and society had redefined the concept of ‘total war’. This eBook brings together recent research on a range of aspects of the war including the extensive war preparations of the great powers; the conduct of the war (including the management of economic mobilisation, economic warfare, economic exploitation, and the role of economists); and the war’s consequences for demography, inequality, economic recovery and political attitudes. Overall this eBook provides a unique insight into the importance of economics and the sometimes overlooked role that economists played in shaping the war and its outcomes.

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Introduction
Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison

Part I: Preparations for war

1 Roots of war: Hitler’s rise to power
Hans-Joachim Voth

2 The German economy from peace to war: The Blitzkrieg economy revisited
Rihcard Overy

3 The Soviet economy and war preparations
Mark Harrison

4 Lessons learned? British economic management and performance during the World Wars
Stephen Broadberry

Part II: Conduct of the war

5 How the war was won
Phillips Payson O’Brien

6 Never alone, and always strong: the British war economy in 1940 and after
David Edgerton

7 The Second World War in America: Spending, deficits, multipliers, and sacrifices
Price Fishback

8 Economic warfare: Insights from Mançur Olson
Mark Harrison