England's Economy : A Part Of The United Kingdom

Prior to World War I, Britain was the most imperialistic country in the world. The British Empire occupied more than a quarter of the world, which spread over five continents and France controlled most of Africa. Because of this control the rivalry with Germany and Italy had increased, they decided they wanted a colonial empire also.

Land Area: The land area of England is 130,395 km². England is bordered to the north by Scotland and west by Wales. Cropland accounts for 30% of the total land area, grazing/ grass 36%, other agricultural land 5%, forests 8% and urban development 21%.

To start off, England had all the natural resources needed to industrialize. England had a natural supply of wool, cotton, coal, iron, lead, and tin (doc 1). These are all resources that are needed and helpful when industrializing. Wool and cotton are especially good for the textile industry, whereas iron was great for making tools and machinery. Along with these resources, England’s location enabled trading due to it’s many waterways. You can not be more than 70 miles from the sea in England (doc 4). Even the animals in the country were an advantage. For example, the sheep in England gave off the best wool (doc 4). Having natural resources helped England industrialize because it saved the country from having to trade, and/or travel to other countries in order to get what they needed. So many of the natural resources needed to industrialize were found in England. England had everything from coal to power

However the biggest advantage Britain had that spurred their modern thinking into industrial factories was its geography. England had fast flowing rivers that were effective to power water mills for machinery, and provided transportation routes for industrial goods. The weak point about rivers was that in winter they froze, stopping the water powered machinery and blocking routes (Little, n.d.). This leads to the true geographical advantage of Britain, one that wasn’t stop by the effects of seasons: high deposits of coal and iron ore. Coal was able to power the newly invented steam engine, which was a breakthrough leading to large scale industries (Little, n.d.).

spanned around the globe. Britain’s colonial empire, in the making since the early 1700’s, still

By the 1800’s, England tapped into its natural resources, which allowed for an immense source of fuel. England’s government also supported innovation and scientific thinkers, two groups who lead the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, it can be concluded that the reasons for England being

The Industrial Revolution was a time when there was a big increase in trade and crop growing. They had many things that helped them to increase their wages, and crop growing was one of the biggest incomes. The Industrial Revolution began in England because they had good natural resources, they had useful inventions, and they had good working strategies. England had many great resources, which is one of the many reasons why the Industrial Revolution began there. All of their resources helped with their needs.

England had many natural resources that helped them in the industrial revolution. They had coal, iron, wool, cotton, lead, and tin. All of these were somewhat close to each other, most in the southern part of England.(doc. 1)

Revolutions have happened all over the human race. One of the first one was an agricultural revolution going from hunting and gathering to first farming. Then further down the road was more revolutions. The change of government was one during the time of the industrial revolution. The Industrial revolution began in England by the geography of England, the innovation's in England, and the economics were good in England.

England was fortunate to be comprised of the perfect natural resources to jumpstart the Industrial Revolution. In Landmarks in English Industrial History, George Warner says “England is rich in these advantages, that she has coal and iron… that her harbors are plentiful… and that no part of the country is farther than seventy miles from the sea” (Document 4). England holds coal, iron, lead, tin, and wool, that were needed for industrialization. The country as an island, provides it’s people with many harbors to help trade overseas. England having helpful resources, assisted in starting the first Industrial Revolution.

Much of the English goods were imported from other countries as well. Beginning in the mid seventeenth century England went through many changes including moving to a commercial and urbanizing country. The first set of changes occurred as England began producing different types of goods. Originally England was making thick types of clothes that were made for the colder weathers. In the late seventeenth century lighter fabrics began to be created. As the change shifted in clothing construction, goods of other markets began taking over the industry. “A wide range of English products replaced imports on the English market and began to compete successfully abroad.” This shift to exporting goods instead of importing greatly improved England’s economy. These goods included sugar, glass, pottery, iron, ships, and different typed of mined goods. Instead of paying to import these goods, England began exporting goods and bringing in a huge amount of money to the English economy.

England was an ideal place for the Industrial Revolution to begin. It had a great location it was by the water, so it was perfect for employment. It had lots of natural resources; it had a good or rather a wealthy economy and also a large population. Countless people were domesticated workers. The

Before the first Industrial Revolution, England's economy was based upon its cottage industry. The workers would purchase raw materials from merchants, take them back to their cottages, and at home is where

First, Britain had some tremendous natural attributes. It was naturally endowed with many deposits of coal and iron ore, which were used heavily in the early stages of factory production. In addition, Britain was situated at a critical point for international trade. Its position between the United States and the rest of Europe allowed them to have a serious impact in all matters of trade.

George Bernard Shaw, a nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 once said, “If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion” (Mankiw, 1998: 34). Yet, an economic comparison between the United Kingdom and the United States could still be made to distinguish the country with the better economic growth performance. Important indicators when comparing economies is economic growth rate, which is a measure of the yearly rate of development rate of GDP using the market prices (Ros, 2013: 26). Another indicator is the GDP, which is defined as the total amount of goods and services produced in a country per year (Mankiw, 2009: 521). Also, the inflation rate is used, which is a continuos increase in the prices for goods and services in the consumer price index and it is measured yearly (Herr & Kazandziska, 2011: 74). Lastly, the unemployment rate shows the percentage of people whiling and could work but do not have a job (Macdonald, 1999: 238). This report will compare the economic growth performance of the United States and the United Kingdom since 1990 using four indicators: economic growth rate, GDP, inflation, and unemployment rate.