Economic characteristics of several countries

Too many. Let's start with a Frenchman.

Characteristics of French economic development and changes in production layout

In the development of world capitalism, France was once the second largest capitalist country and the second largest colonial empire after Britain. However, due to its own conditions and economic development characteristics, its position and production layout characteristics in the world economy are quite different from those in Britain.

1789 after the success of the French bourgeois revolution, although some measures were implemented to promote the development of capitalist industry and agriculture, the process of the French industrial revolution was delayed due to Napoleon's war of foreign aggression and other reasons. When Britain has become a "world factory", monopolized the world industrial products market and established the world maritime hegemony, France started the industrial revolution in the 1920s of 19.

During the industrial revolution (1820 ~ 1870), the number of steam engines increased rapidly, from 39 in 1820 to 32,789 in 1869. Machines are widely used in textile industry, and are rapidly popularized in printing, papermaking and metalworking industries. The output of coal and pig iron increased by 10 times, from 880,000 tons and10,000 tons before the industrial revolution to/kloc-0,346,000 tons and/kloc-0,380,000 tons respectively, and the output of steel reached/kloc-0,380,000 tons. Machine mass production has become the main form of industrial production. At the same time, agricultural production has also been greatly developed. The bourgeois revolution destroyed the feudal forces in the countryside, distributed a certain amount of land to farmers, and improved their enthusiasm for work. Capitalist farms in rural areas are developing day by day, some of which are established by a few rich peasants in the polarization of small farmers; There are also bourgeois farms that plundered a lot of land in the Great Revolution. Although these capitalist farms only account for 5% of all farmers, they occupy more than 40% of the country's cultivated land. During this period, the wheat in France increased by about 1 times, and the agricultural output value increased by 1.5 times. Agricultural output value exceeded nearly 50% of industrial output value, and fell to 62.5% by the end of 1960s.

At this stage, although France's economy has made great progress, it has become an economic power next to Britain in the world, but it lags far behind Britain. The main reasons are:

(1) Coal and iron resources are in short supply. France's coal resources are far inferior to Britain's rich coal resources in terms of reserves and quality, and they are mostly distributed in remote areas. For example, the earliest mined Saint Ota-Lecoeuret left coalfield is located between the upper reaches of the Loire River and the Rhone-Thorne Valley on the northeast edge of the central plateau. Rough terrain, shallow Loire River and steep Rhone River are not conducive to navigation and transportation. The northern part of Noel-Calais coalfield, which was developed vigorously after 1950s, has good location conditions, but the coal seams are irregularly distributed and buried deeply, which is not conducive to mining. For a long time, the northern coalfields only played a role in the local area. France is rich in iron ore resources, but the iron ore in Lorraine Plateau contains high phosphorus, which is difficult to smelt under the technical conditions at that time.

(2) The economy of small and medium-sized farmers in rural areas is absolutely dominant. Among the farmers in China, the small farmers whose land is below 10 hectare account for more than 80% of the total farmers, and the small farmers whose land is below 10 hectare account for 40% of the total farmers. The long-term existence of these small landlords has had a strong impact on the French economy. First of all, small-scale land ownership binds farmers to the land, resulting in a shortage of labor in the industry (unlike the "enclosure movement" in Britain, which made a large number of farmers enter the factory); Secondly, with the growth of agricultural population, there is less and less land for one household, and people live in poverty, mostly self-sufficient production, which leads to a narrow domestic market, which is not conducive to the development of industrial production; Third, the productivity of small-scale peasant economy is low, farmers can't afford machines, and small plots of land are not suitable for using machines, which makes the development of agricultural production unsuitable for the development of industrial production. As Marx said: "... it is not allowed to divide small plots of land into different parts, nor is it allowed to apply any science to farming, so there is no diversified development." The slow development of agricultural production is an important reason for the slow development of the whole French economy.

(3) insufficient funds. In the primitive accumulation of capital stage, France accumulated a lot of capital through overseas trade and colonial plunder; During the industrial revolution, financial capitalists also made a fortune and accumulated huge wealth. However, due to the bourgeois revolution, the political situation in France was turbulent; Industrial production lacks raw materials, fuel and cheap labor, and its profit is low; The majority of small farmers live in poverty, which provides a wide space for usury, so credit capital is in a dominant position in France. Bankers lend money to the state; And export capital to foreign governments and enterprises through banks in the form of borrowing capital such as issuing bonds and providing loans; At the same time engaged in various speculative activities. Usury capital attracts a lot of funds that can be used to run industries, which makes the development of domestic industries slow due to lack of funds.

During the industrial revolution, the coal mining and metallurgical industrial concentration areas in central France and the industrial areas with Lille-Roube as the core in the north were formed. The central region established the iron and steel industry on the basis of coal mining in Lecreux, Zuo and St. Arioux Tower, and became the earliest heavy industrial zone in France, known as "Ruhr" in France. On the basis of the traditional silk weaving industry, a silk weaving industry has been formed in nearby Lyon, where more than 4/5 of the country's silk weaving machines are concentrated. Driven by the mining of Noel-Calais coalfield, the northern industrial zone established the iron and steel industry in Denan. With the British investing and introducing technology and machinery here, on the basis of the original wool textile industry and linen textile industry, the cotton textile industry also developed rapidly, forming an industrial zone with coal mining, steel and textile as the main industries. The scale and level of these two industrial zones are far from being compared with the old industrial zones in central England. Due to the lack of coal and inconvenient transportation in France, apart from the two major industrial zones, there are only small-scale factories scattered in the western port areas and areas rich in hydraulic resources.

From the 1930s of 19, the railway lines in France were gradually built, forming a star-shaped railway network with Paris as the center and leading to all directions. Railways provide extremely favorable conditions for the industrial development of Paris. Traditional clothing, cosmetics and jewelry in Paris have been greatly developed, and heavy industry has also been established. Therefore, until the completion of the industrial revolution in the late 1960s, the industries in Paris, mainly light industry, occupied an important position in the French economy. In the late 1960s, the output value of French clothing and luxury goods was 2.6 times that of all mining and metal processing industries, with Paris as the main center.

Due to the slow development of French industry, which is dominated by light industry, it was surpassed by the United States and former West Germany by the end of the 1960s when the industrial revolution was completed.

During the transition to imperialism (1870 ~ 19 13), the French economy was still developing slowly. 1870, France launched the Franco-Prussian War, which soon failed. The Franco-Prussian War greatly affected the French economy. The war caused France to lose about 654.38+03 billion francs, and paid 5 billion francs in reparations after the war. The cession of Lorraine, which is rich in iron ore resources, and Alsace, which is developed in industry and agriculture, to Germany caused France to lose 65.438+0.45 million square kilometers of land, 6.5438+0.5 million people, or about 654.38+0.4 yarn. This makes the original factors affecting economic development more prominent: the serious shortage of minerals and fuels; Capital is more scarce, production equipment is outdated and cannot be updated, investment by domestic enterprises is further reduced, and a large amount of funds are flowing out; Small-scale peasant economy still accounts for the majority of the total number of peasants. Under the pressure of usury, taxation, poverty and bankruptcy, on the one hand, the land is further concentrated in the hands of large farmers, on the other hand, the land operated by many small farmers is more dispersed and the production is backward. France's position in the world economy is declining. In 1870, French industry accounted for 10% of the world, and in 19 13, it fell to 6%, equivalent to Russia.

During this period, French production and capital concentration intensified, forming a monopoly and transitioning to imperialism. Because of its slow industrial development, its capital concentration is far less than that of the United States, Germany and other countries. However, its bank capital concentration is very high, and it carries out large-scale capital export. The form of capital export is different from that of Britain. Most of the British capital was exported to the colonies and operated colonial industries and manors, while French capital still invested in the form of loan capital, as Lenin pointed out in "Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism": France's "foreign investment is mainly in Europe, first in Russia, and most of it is loan capital, that is, public debt, rather than investment in industrial enterprises. French imperialism is different from British colonial imperialism, so it is called usury imperialism. "

During the transition to imperialism, France stepped up its colonial plunder. By 19 14, the French colony reached 6,543.8+006,000 square kilometers, 20 times the local area at that time, and ruled 55.5 million people. It has invaded Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in Asia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Congo, Gabon, Madagascar and most parts of West Africa in Africa, and French Guiana in Latin America. France cruelly oppressed the colonies, set up banks, issued bonds, exploited debts, bought raw materials and products cheaply, but rarely invested in colonial production enterprises. Compared with the colonies of other imperialist countries, the colonial industry in France is more backward and the economic structure is extremely deformed.

At this stage, French industry, especially heavy industry, has developed greatly. Due to the huge demand of railway construction and the invention of Thomas steelmaking method in 1879, phosphorus in pig iron can be eliminated by using basic refractory as furnace lining, which makes the steel output increase rapidly from 80,000 tons in 1870 to 22 million tons in 19 13 years. The iron and steel industry in the northern region has further developed. The use of electricity in the second scientific and technological revolution led to the establishment of industrial hydropower equipment in Alps. Under the technical conditions at that time, short-distance transmission was more economical. Therefore, on the basis of bauxite mining in the southeast, aluminum smelting and electrochemical industry have been established in Alps. The silk industry with Lyon as the center has made great progress because of electricity. On the basis of the printing and dyeing industry, the chemical industry has developed, and the textile machinery has gradually developed. Emerging industrial sectors established by the third scientific and technological revolution-automobile manufacturing, chemistry, machine manufacturing, motor manufacturing, etc. -Most of them are located in the area centered on Paris. Due to the influx of immigrants from Alsace and other places and the migration of enterprises during the Franco-Prussian War, the industry in the eastern foothills of Jura has developed greatly. By the eve of the First World War, the French industrial layout had been concentrated to the east of the le havre-Marseille line.

By 19 13, agriculture accounts for 37.4% and industry accounts for 33.8% of the employed population in France. The agricultural employment population still exceeds the industrial employment population, and France is still an agricultural industrial country.

From World War I to World War II (19 14 ~ 1945), French territory was the main battlefield, with huge economic losses. As France is a member of the Allies, the Treaty of Versailles signed in 19 19 is extremely beneficial to the post-war economic development of France. First, France recovered Alsace and Lorraine from Germany and obtained the escrow right of Sal coal-producing area. Although the iron ore rich in Lorraine contains high phosphorus, it has been vigorously developed and utilized because of the appearance of Thomas steelmaking. The recovery of Lorraine has increased the ironmaking capacity of France by 70% and the steelmaking capacity by 50%, making it the largest heavy industry base in France. Sal's rich coalfields, especially high-quality coking coal, have greatly alleviated the problem of coal shortage in France. Saar region was not merged into the former Federal Republic of Germany until 1959. Alsace's rich potassium salt and developed agriculture and textile industry have enhanced the strength of French industry and agriculture. The solution of raw materials and fuel problems and the expansion of the production capacity of steel and textile industries have provided superior conditions for the development of French industry and agriculture. Second, the compensation paid by Germany to France is 8010.50 billion goldmark, and most of it is paid in kind with low discount, especially coal, which is extremely beneficial to the development of French industry. Third, France seized Syria, Lebanon, Togo, Cameroon and other colonies from Germany, expanded the colonial territory, and played an important role in expanding the market of raw materials, grain bases and industrial products after the war. The recovery of war-damaged areas after the war stimulated economic development, especially the development of heavy industry. In the 1920s, the industrial growth rate of France surpassed that of other capitalist countries. 1926, the industrial population of France surpassed the agricultural population for the first time in history, and the employment of heavy industry accounted for 48% of the total industrial employment, which established the position of industry, especially heavy industry, in the economy and became a capitalist industrial and agricultural country. In the world capitalist economic crisis in 1930s, the crisis in France lasted for a very long time, and the economy declined seriously, which reduced the proportion of French industry in the capitalist world from 1937 to only 5%. At the same time, due to the large proportion of small farmers, low technical level and output per unit area, high price and narrow domestic and foreign markets, the agricultural crisis is more serious. When France had not recovered from the economic crisis, World War II broke out and a large part of France was occupied by fascist Germany. The economy suffered serious damage during the war, and France was liberated in August 1944.

At this stage (19 14 ~ 1945), French automobile, aviation, chemistry, motor, rubber and other industrial sectors developed rapidly, and other sectors such as machinery manufacturing, metallurgy and mining also increased greatly. Paris is still the center of automobile, airplane, machinery manufacturing, chemistry and other industries. The coastal ports of le havre and Marseille have developed their oil industries by importing oil. Clermont-ferrand has become an important center of rubber industry. On the basis of the original textile industry, the man-made fiber industry in Lyon has been developed. Due to the large proportion of capitalist farmers, tractors, all kinds of agricultural machinery and fertilizers are used in the northern region with the Paris Basin as the center, and the labor productivity and output have been greatly improved, making it the most important agricultural region in China. Therefore, the industry and agriculture in the eastern region still occupy an important position in the country.

The post-war economic recovery after World War II increased the domestic market demand and stimulated the growth of fixed capital investment. The focus of industrial investment is heavy chemical industry, especially basic industry, and more labor-intensive technical equipment is used, which makes the labor force transfer from agriculture to industry and service industry on a large scale. At the same time of industrialization, agriculture has also begun to develop towards mechanization. The development of heavy chemical industry has laid a solid material foundation for the rapid development of the whole national economy. In the late 1950s, after Charles de Gaulle came to power, the French economy entered a stage of rapid development. During the period of 1959 ~ 1974 and 15, the average growth rate of French GDP was as high as 5.7%. In the capitalist world, it is second only to Japan, surpassing the United States (3.9%), Britain (3%) and the former Federal Republic of Germany. The reasons for its rapid economic growth mainly include the following aspects:

(1) has carried out large-scale production equipment renewal, expanded and built some industrial departments, and made the labor productivity and technical level catch up with the world advanced level. Steel, chemical industry, machinery, automobile and other industrial fields have all achieved large-scale development.

(2) Implementing the policy of supporting agriculture by industry and providing a large number of agricultural machinery, fertilizers and fuel oil. For agriculture, reduce prices, encourage the expansion of farm scale and support the export of agricultural products. By the mid-1960s, agriculture had achieved mechanization, electrification and chemicalization, and became a net exporter of agricultural products. The development of agriculture has expanded the domestic market and increased exports.

(3) Attach importance to education and scientific research, actively develop science and technology, and vigorously introduce foreign advanced technology. 1974, France's education expenditure except universities accounted for 4.7% of the gross national product of that year and 24% of the national fiscal expenditure, ranking first among capitalist countries. Scientific research funds account for 1 ~ 2% of the gross national product. With the progress of science and technology, the industrial labor productivity in France increased by 4.3% annually during the 25 years from 195 1 to 1975.

(4) The establishment of European economic unification and the unified agricultural policy make France's foreign trade expand continuously. The establishment of * * * homology has expanded France's foreign market, and the trade between * * * homologous member countries has increased sharply. French exports to * * * homologous member countries increased from 23% of total exports in 1955 to 50% in 1976. During this period, France's exports to * * * homologous member countries increased. France is a big exporter of agricultural products, and it can get a lot of export subsidies from the agricultural fund of * * * every year. At the same time, the same price policy makes it possible to buy agricultural products at a guaranteed price when the prices of agricultural products fall, ensuring that farmers suffer less losses. These policies have greatly stimulated the development of French agriculture.

(5) The state monopoly capitalism developed rapidly, and the state "planned regulation" was implemented after the war. From 1947, the first "plan" (1947 ~ 1953) to the third plan is called "modern proportion and equipment plan"; From the fourth plan (1962 ~ 1965), it was renamed as "economic and social development plan". According to the needs of the situation at that time, each plan determines the content of key development and planning indicators, such as the sixth plan 1970 ~ 1975, which emphasizes the adjustment of industrial structure; The core of the tenth plan (1989 ~ 1992) is to prepare for the establishment of a large European market (1992) and accelerate the adjustment of economic adaptability. Although these plans are not binding on private enterprises, the government has adopted various policies in finance, credit, investment and price through the national budget, economic and social development funds and various credit channels to promote the implementation of the plans, which has played a certain role in regulating and promoting the development of the national economy.

After 1974, the economy of France, a country lacking in energy, was greatly impacted by the soaring international oil price. In addition, due to the imbalance between domestic economic sectors and the intensification of international market competition, France started late in the new technological revolution, so it entered a period of slow economic development. 1965 ~ 1980, the average annual GDP growth rate was 4.0%, while 1980 ~ 1990 dropped to 2.2%, which was lower than that of the United States and Britain. Per capita GNP 1965 ~ 1990, with an average annual increase of 2.4%.

After the war, due to the increase in the quantity and proportion of raw materials and fuel imports, the economy of coastal areas has grown substantially. The establishment of coastal iron and steel enterprises in Dunkirk and Foss, the development of oil and petrochemical industries in le havre and Rouen at the mouth of the Seine River and Marseille-Foss along the Mediterranean Sea, especially the development of various industries centered on Paris, have further strengthened the economic strength of the eastern region. With the discovery of 1949 Lacker gas field, the increase of 1954 Parenty oil reserves and the development of the Pyrenees hydropower, the southwest of China has become an important energy base in France. In addition, the aviation industry has been evacuated to the southwest before and after the war, making it an aviation and aerospace industrial zone in France. Toulouse, Bordeaux, barone and Bo are all aviation industry centers, and so is the chemical industry.