Unemployment in Denmark in the 1930s

Abstract

This paper examines three estimates of Danish unemployment in the 1930s by Maddison (1964), Hansen (1974) and Pedersen (1977). Secondly, two new estimates of the Danish unemployment are presented based on the available monthly data from the unemployment [unds and on the official registration of unemployment outside the funds. The new estimates of the early 1930s are in between the estimates of Pedersen and Maddison, while it is argued that both Maddison and Pedersen overrate the increase in unemployment in the later part of the period.     

Unemployment and Economic Policy in Denmark in the 1930s

Abstract

The paper examines Danish unemployment and the employment policy in the 1930s. The unemployment data indicate that though the unemployment increased dramatically the rate of unemployment remained low. The official Danish unemployment records definitely underestimated the actual unemployment in the early 1930s, but the discrepancy was hardly as big as some scholars have suggested. The paper furthermore points out that the rather atypical rise in the Danish unemployment from the mid-1930s can be attributed to a rise in the natural rate of unemployment due to an improved unemployment insurance coverage and a more comprehensive registration of the unemployment. The second part of the paper deals with the Danish employment policy. Unemployment remained high on the political agenda, but the employment problem never became the main target for the economic policy. An active employment policy was constrained by the problems of the balance of payments and the political disagreements in parliament. While the macroeconomic policy did help to stabilize the economy and the employment, the number of measures directly targeting the labour market was small, and they seldom gave rise to much job creation.     

The competitive position of the finnish sawmill industry in the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

The days of glory of the Finnish sawn timber exporters lasted from the beginning of the twentieth century to the early 1930s. During this period the sawmill industry was unquestionable the major industrial sector in the country, measured by the gross value of its output. In foreign trade, sawn timber accounted for about 40% of Finland's total exports. In some years nearly half of the total export revenue was earned by this sector alone. At the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, sawn timber accounted for only 7-8 % of exports and the sawmill industry had slipped far from the top, even measured by total output value.     

Regime shift and fast recovery on the periphery: New Zealand in the 1930s

New Zealand's recovery from the Great Depression was unusually fast and promoted by a new monetary regime that disassociated the Dominion's banking system from that of Australia, and broke the conventional parity between the New Zealand pound and sterling. The new regime destroyed deflationary sentiments, redistributed income to farmers, and sharply reduced real interest rates. Collectively, these forces promoted recovery. The consequences for New Zealand's real GDP are gauged by assessing how money, velocity, and prices would have behaved without a regime change. The new monetary regime raised real GDP per caput by one–third by 1938.     

20世纪二三十年代中国农民的消费结构分析

在中国经济史的研究中,生产、交换、分配等问题,都曾受到学术界广泛的关注,而消费问题则一度被忽视,尤其是关于近代农民的消费分析,成果不多。本文较为全面地分析了20世纪二三十年代中国农民的消费结构,着重于农民生活消费的分析,同时涉及消费的来源、消费的营养结构、消费与收入的关系、不同耕种权的农民的消费差异等问题,力求揭示这一时期中国农民消费结构的全貌。     

食品结构和营养结构:20世纪二、三十年代一个中国国民社会生活的实证分析

近代中国是由自然经济向商品经济,封闭经济向开放经济转变的过渡时期。近代中国过渡型经济形态的本质特征,决定了在其经济发展过程中,国民生活水平和质量发生了变化。本文运用实证分析方法,重点考察近代中国国民的食品和营养水平及其结构状况,进而从一个侧面测度近代中国国民生活水平和质量。