《英语国家社会与文化入门》上册第五单元.docx

1、英语国家社会与文化入门上册第五单元The UK Economy Text The United Kingdom of Great Britain is a major developed capitalist country. It is now the worlds sixth largest economy and has a gross domestic product(GDP)of US$2645 billion (2010) and is forecast to have the strongest business environment of all major European

2、 economies, but also a member of the World Trade Organization. It is a leading global nation, as the second largest exporter and third largest importer of commercial services, and the tenth largest exporter and sixth largest importer of merchandise (2007). Absolute Decline and Relative Decline By th

3、e 1880s the British economy was dominant in the world, producing one third of the worlds manufactured goods, half its coal and iron, half its cotton. The amount of British shipping was greater than that in the rest of the word put together. But even by 1990 this was no longer the case, the UK having

4、 been overtaken by both the United States and Germany; and certainly from1945 until the present, the story of the UK economy is usually thought of as one of decline. This is understandable but rather misleading, as it has in fact been a period of steady economic growth and rapidly increasing living

5、standards. Britain remains one of the Group of Seven large industrial economies. But there are reasons for describing this period as one of decline. Britain entered the post-war world as one of the successful allies of the Second World War, with some of its chief competitor nations such as Germany a

6、nd Japan, economically destroyed. Also Britain was the centre of a still vast empire. According to the figures, The UK was second only to the United States in the international economy. Thus Britain was then in an apparently strong economic position, a position it clearly no longer occupies, which i

7、ndicates some sort of decline. But the basic positive-seeming facts describing the size of the economy, the high proportion of the world trade that was British, and so on, in 1945, did not reveal important negative facts about the UKs position even t hen. Firstly the country had gone heavily into de

8、bt in order to finance the war, selling many of its accumulated overseas assets, and borrowing large amounts from the United States and Canada. These debts meant that the UK entered the post-war era with a major economic problem. Secondly, the era of empire was over. India, popularly known as The Je

9、wel in the Crown of the British Empire, gained its independence in1947, only 2 years after the end of the war. This was the largest element in the empire, providing raw materials and a big market for British goods. This relationship with India was no longer available, and the rest of the empire quic

10、kly followed India to independence, leaving Britain as just a medium-size European country, with a population only one fifth the size of the U.S. Thirdly, despite the relatively rapid and trouble-free process of decolonization, Britain was still forced to maintain a substantial and expensive militar

11、y presence in many overseas locations until the process was completed (mostly by the end of the 1960s). Also its position as one of the shapers of the post-war world required substantial military contributions-both as one of NATOs major partners, and as a member of the UN Security Council. All this

12、had the result that Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth (and especially of its research and development budget) on the military than most of its competitors. Military expenditure tends not to generate an economic return in quite the same way as other industrial investment. Fourt

13、hly, although Britain was quite badly damaged by German bombing during the war, its industry survived comparatively unaffected. This contrasted greatly with some of its competitors especially the main losers in the conflict, Germany and Japan, who almost had to start again from nothing. This apparen

14、t disadvantage for them may have worked in their favour in that as they had to invest, they could invest in the most modern equipment and new products. British industry however could continue with its older factories and pre-war products, and given its other economic problems, did so a problem in th

15、e long-term. It also meant that output was initially very low potentially large economies: so while Britain looked securely wealthier than them in 1945, a catching-up with the UK was inevitable as they recovered. This failure to invest sufficiently in industry also reflects a long-standing and conti

16、nuing problem in the UK economy. Even without the particular circumstances of the post-war world, relatively low rates of investment (the amount of money business put aside from profits to reinvest in the business in new products and production methods) were characteristic of the British economy in

17、relation to other developed economies. Economists have pointed to the lack of a close relationship between industry and banks in the UK again a contrast, particularly with the two most successful post-war economies, Japan and Germany, where banks and industrial firms have very close links. Economic

18、historians have suggested that this may be due to the fact that the UK was the first economy to industrialize, and industrial firms, without foreign competition, grew used to financing their own development, without need to borrow from banks. Banks therefore, not able to find good investment opportu

19、nities in the UK, looked overseas for investment opportunities. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment is still a characteristic of the UK economy. So, amongst European nations, Britain is the largest investor in China, but sells fewer of it

20、s own manufactured goods here than do Germany or France. The point to note is that the comparatively strong economic position Britain found itself in 1945 was in many ways deceptive. So the decline from Britains apparently good fortunes at that point until now is thus not as extraordinary as it migh

21、t seem, being the result of already existing basic problems. And it should also be remembered that this was not an absolute decline: Britain is not poorer, or producing less than it was in 1945, in fact (like most countries) it is a lot wealthier and more productive than it was then. The problem is

22、that though is has improved, other countries have improved more rapidly, hence the slide form being the 2nd largest economy (after the United States) to being the sixth, as it is at present. And even many smaller economies have overtaken the UK in terms of output per head of population. So the UK ha

23、s experienced economic decline, but this decline is relative to some other economies rather than absolute. Nevertheless, this relative failure is a serious cause of concern to the UK governments. Recent History The British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s. The oil price ri

24、ses at that time led to very high rates of inflation (up to 25%). This caused many workers to strike for more pay. The fall in the value of the UK currency (The Pound) even forced the Labour (socialist) government to borrow from the International Monetary Fund. British industry, notably the car indu

25、stry, appeared to be doing badly, with increasing imports relative to export. All these negative economic facts led to a change of government at the next general election, in 1979, when the British people voted in the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher, with the promise of a radical programm

26、e of reform. Bureaucracy was reduced (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, (for example). And throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatization was carried out, with many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) joining the private

27、sector. It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and businesses, especially the newly privatized businesses, made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment, rising to almost 12% at its worst. So while companies were more efficient, produci

28、ng the same amount with less workers, and therefore being able to pay higher wages and make higher profits, the cost was paid by the unemployed who had to live on low incomes from state support. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors. In the recession 1

29、990-1992, the economy even shrunk by2.3%. Since then however, the picture has been brighter, with four years of steady growth, at rates higher than that in the rest of the EU. Unemployment has now fallen to 7.7%, which is among the lowest in the EU. Inflation has remained under control at very low l

30、evels. Investment has increased, encouraged by low interest rates. Britains membership of the EU has also made it an attractive location for inward investment by companies from outside the EU (especially the US and Japan), of which it has received a larger share than any other EU country. Overall it

31、 is second only to the US as a destination for international direct investment. It is also itself a major source of international investment in fact it is the second biggest international investor in the world (1995). The Current UK Economy National economies can be broken down into three main areas

32、: primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and mining; secondary industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; and tertiary industries, often described as services, such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods. Britains agricultural sector is smal

33、l (producing1.4% of the national wealth) but efficient, producing 58% of the UKs food needs with only 2% of its workforce. There quarters of Britains land is used for agriculture, with about a quarter of that under crops- wheat and barley are two commonest. The rest is grazing for animals, including cattle (both dairy, and beef), though s