Statistics and the German State, 1900–1945
The Making of Modern Economic Knowledge

This book considers statistical innovation, 1900–45, in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich.

J. Adam Tooze (Author)

9780521039123, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 August 2007

336 pages, 2 b/w illus. 9 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.504 kg

'This is an important book … he provides what is doubtlessly the best existing account of Germany's experimenting with economic policy after World War 1.' Financial History Review

Tooze provides an interpretation of the dramatic period of statistical innovation between 1900 and the end of World War II. At the turn of the century, virtually none of the economic statistics that we take for granted today were available. By 1944, the entire repertoire of modern economic statistics was being put to work in wartime economic management. As this book reveals, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich were in the forefront of statistical innovation in the interwar decades. New ways of measuring the economy were inspired both by contemporary developments in macroeconomic theory and the needs of government. The Weimar Republic invested heavily in macroeconomic research. Under the Nazi regime, these statistical tools were to provide the basis for a radical experiment in economic planning. Based on the German example, this book presents the case for a more wide-ranging reconsideration of the history of modern economic knowledge.

List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Glossary and abbreviations
Introduction
1. Official statistics and the crisis of the Wilhelmine state
2. The Republic's new numbers, 1918–23
3. Weimar's macroeconomic statistics, 1924–29
4. The crisis of Weimar's statistical establishment, 1930–3
5. Statistics and the 'Strong State', 1933–6
6. The radicalization of the Nazi regime and the death of official statistics, 1936–9
7. World War II and the return of macroeconomics
Conclusion
Appendix: Wagemann's national economic account - explanatory notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Economic theory & philosophy [KCA], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]