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Reassessing the Wirtschaftswunder: Reconstruction and Postwar Growth in West Germany in an International Context

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  • Dumke, Rolf H

Abstract

This paper presents a test of the reconstruction thesis, a paradigm of postwar growth in West Germany, to explain long run growth, 1950-80, in a sample of 16 rich OECD countries, in competition with the technology gap argument. The regression results suggest that both causes of growth contribute substantially to convergence growth in this sample. The notion of reconstruction growth--its definition, theory and length of operation--is critically discussed. It is suggested that the dynamics of reconstruction growth which result from the disproportionality between human and physical capital, caused by warindued shocks and destruction, may best be understood by appeal to the mechanics of the newer growth theories. Copyright 1990 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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  • Dumke, Rolf H, 1990. "Reassessing the Wirtschaftswunder: Reconstruction and Postwar Growth in West Germany in an International Context," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 52(4), pages 451-491, Special I.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:obuest:v:52:y:1990:i:4:p:451-91
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    Cited by:

    1. Broadberry, Stephen & Lennard, Jason, 2024. "European business cycles and economic growth, 1300–2000," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Nick Hanley & Les Oxley & David Greasley & Eoin McLaughlin & Matthias Blum, 2016. "Empirical Testing of Genuine Savings as an Indicator of Weak Sustainability: A Three-Country Analysis of Long-Run Trends," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 313-338, February.
    3. van de Klundert, T.C.M.J. & Smulders, J.A., 1991. "Reconstructing growth theory : A survey," Other publications TiSEM 19355c51-17eb-4d5d-aa66-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. J. Bradford De Long & Barry Eichengreen, 1991. "The Marshall Plan: History's Most Successful Structural Adjustment Program," NBER Working Papers 3899, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Bajo-Rubio, Oscar, 2012. "The balance-of-payments constraint on economic growth in a long-term perspective: Spain, 1850–2000," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 105-117.
    6. Sell, Friedrich L. & Reidelhuber, Martin, 2007. "Vertrauen und Sozialkapital an einer wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität der Bundeswehr München und in Deutschland: Eine empirische Studie," Working Papers in Economics 2007,1, Bundeswehr University Munich, Economic Research Group.
    7. Diego Comin & Bart Hobijn, 2011. "Technology Diffusion and Postwar Growth," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2010, volume 25, pages 209-246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. repec:cte:whrepe:wp06-05 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Sell, Friedrich L., 2007. "More about economic and non-economic determinants of (mutual) trust and trustworthiness," Working Papers in Economics 2007,2, Bundeswehr University Munich, Economic Research Group.
    10. Myszczyszyn Janusz, 2021. "Development of Transport as a Factor of the Economic Miracle (Wirtschaftswunder) of West Germany," Studia Historiae Oeconomicae, Sciendo, vol. 39(1), pages 189-215, December.
    11. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Pintea, Mihaela I., 2009. "A quantitative exploration of the Golden Age of European growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1437-1450, July.
    12. Blum Matthias & McLaughlin Eoin & Hanley Nick, 2019. "Accounting for Sustainable Development over the Long-Run: Lessons from Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 20(4), pages 410-446, December.
    13. Smolny Werner, 2003. "Produktivitätsanpassung in Ostdeutschland. Bestandsaufnahme und Ansatzpunkte einer Erklärung," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 223(2), pages 239-254, April.
    14. Landon-Lane, John S. & Robertson, Peter E., 2009. "Long-run growth in the OECD: A test of the parallel growth paths hypothesis," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 346-355, July.
    15. Eichengreen, Barry, 1994. "The Bretton Woods System: Paradise Lost?," Center for International and Development Economics Research (CIDER) Working Papers 233394, University of California-Berkeley, Department of Economics.
    16. Lücke Bernd, 2005. "Is Germany's GDP Trend-Stationary? A Measurement-With-Theory Approach / Ist das deutsche BIP trendstationär: Ein Measurement-With-Theory Ansatz," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 225(1), pages 60-76, February.
    17. Barry Eichengreen & Albrecht Ritschl, 2009. "Understanding West German economic growth in the 1950s," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 3(3), pages 191-219, October.
    18. Hartung, Thomas & Sell, Friedrich L., 2008. "Auf der Suche nach der optimalen Finanzmarktaufsicht," Working Papers in Economics 2008,1, Bundeswehr University Munich, Economic Research Group.
    19. Smolny, Werner, 1999. "International Sectoral Spillovers: An Empirical Analysis for German and U.S. Industries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 135-154, January.
    20. Alan Booth, 2003. "The manufacturing failure hypothesis and the performance of British industry during the long boom," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 56(1), pages 1-33, February.
    21. Tarján, Tamás, 2011. "Egyenes vagy S alakú a Jánossy-féle trendvonal?. Hosszú távú egyensúlyi állapot Maddison adatai és az új növekedéselmélet tükrében [A simple or an S-shaped Jánossy trend?. A long-term state of equi," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(6), pages 552-564.
    22. Smolny, Werner, 1995. "International sectoral spillovers: An empircal analysis for German and US Industries," Discussion Papers 29, University of Konstanz, Center for International Labor Economics (CILE).
    23. Ritschl Albrecht, 1995. "Aufstieg und Niedergang der Wirtschaft der DDR: Ein Zahlenbild 1945-1989," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 36(2), pages 11-46, December.

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