1st Edition

The Belgian Economy in the Twentieth Century

By André Mommen Copyright 1994

    By the end of the nineteenth century Belgium was enjoying considerable economic success. However, the economic experience has proved significantly less stable in the twentieth century.
    In The Belgian Economy in the Twentieth Century Professor Andre Mommen describes and analyzes the changing fortunes of the Belgian economy throughout this century. He traces the Belgian experience from the state regulation of the inter-war period to its current difficulties. Central to the discussion is the innate problem of Belgian dependence on international trade due to her small domestic market. This volume explains how a small but industrialized European nation succeeded in preserving its competitiveness only to succumb to a devastating debt crisis in the last decade.

    List of tables, List of acronyms and abbreviations, Editor’s introduction, Introduction, 1 STATE REGULATION DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD, 2 THE POLITICS OF INDUSTRY, 3 THE POLITICS OF PRODUCTION DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, 4 POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION ON A PRE-WAR BASE (1944–58), 5 THE RECESSION OF 1958–60, 6 PARADISE LOST: THE DECOLONIZATION OF THE CONGO, 7 THE GOLDEN 1960s, 8 THE POLITICS OF INFLEXIBLE ADJUSTMENT (1971–81), 9 BACK TO MARKET CAPITALISM (1981–8), 10 THE LAST TRUMP, Bibliography, Index

    Biography

    Andre Mommen