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Bears weight explaining decline from cultural and political grandeur Louis XIV to Vichy humiliation - 1820 world’s largest economy, 4th in 1913.

Early 20th century statistics damming = heightened Great Depression - had France changed since 1880s?

Late 17th to 20th century relative per capita income gap probably constant = explanations poor war performance explained with comparisons to British economy = Wars of Austrian Succession, Seven Years and Napoleonic Wars

Start Theory - 1870 - 1900 French GSP 74 of British, 67 American, 118 Germany 1913 59, 23, 61 France probably gaining in per capita terms French industrial performance during the WW1 belies all charges of backwardness despite loss important industrial region supply soldiers effectively as Germany. See economic backwardness artefact of non-economic concerns declining role of France in world politics BUT per capita income always less than Britain

Economic Crisis of the 18th Century Pre-Revolutionary Debate

Labrousse smoothed series of prices and wages traced out secular decline in real wages- scientifically measures increasing distress cause social revolution Growth induced redistribution income from from workers and peasants to capitalists and landlords imiseration not reversed by arrest expansion as capitalists compensate fall in the rate of profit by increasing the rate of exploitation of the workers actual event precipitated by long festering agricultural crisis harvest shortfalls displacement to food stuffs of an already weakened effective demand for manufactures

Merged with new population statistics -18th century economy hostage to law of diminishing returns fall in real wages positive that pre Revolutionary economy blocked

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