A Research Of The 1976 IMF Crisis In Britain

After World War II,under the influence of "Keynesianism Demand Management" and "socialism Reform Theory",the British government made economic policies with the goal of ensuring full employment,nationalization and building a welfare state.Under the guidance of this theory,the British economy has indeed recovered.But after the 1970 s,Keynesianism is becoming increasingly backward and rigid,the economic crisis followed,as a result,the British economy has fallen into a "stop-and-go" situation.Among these economic crisis,"The 1976 IMF crisis" is the most representative.Facing the crisis,Callaghan government had to seek loan from the International Monetary Fund and accept its conditions,it is cut public spending and control inflation.The crisis challenged the traditional Keynesianism in Britain,prompting the Labour government to accept Monetarism and adjust its economic policy.This article mainly studying the background,process and impact of the crisis,showing the change of economic ideas and social development of Britain at that time.The paper consists of introduction,four chapters and conclusion.The introduction,firstly,defines the meaning of "The 1976 IMF crisis",secondly,the reasons and significance of choosing the crisis as the research object,the research summary and theoretical achievements of the domestic and foreign academic circles on the crisis.Chapter I mainly introduces the brewing of the crisis.It mainly summarized the domestic economic problems at that time,the expansion of trade union power,the oil crisis in 1973 and the troubles of the EC problem both laid the groundwork for "The1976 IMF crisis".Chapter II mainly introduces the outbreak of the crisis.Unsuitable measures be published led to a decline in foreign competitiveness,pound had been depreciating and a difficult situation for the government.Some government policies are difficult to implement,leading social opposition and the outbreak of crisis.Chapter III introduces the warming up of the crisis.The government's initial response was fruitless.Labour government took foreign exchange intervention measures,sought American aid and published the reduction plan,but the final result was opposed by the Cabinet,the deterioration of contradictions within the Labour Party,and the social response was not good.The government finally decided to seekforeign aid.Chapter IV mainly introduces the solve of the crisis.The government decided to borrow from IMF and be forced to accept the conditions,carrying out some measures of Monetarism and finally to solve the crisis.From many meetings held by government about the number of cuts,it can be seen that there are many divisions within the Labour Party.It can be concluded that the crisis is a serious challenge to the British government and to the British Labour Party.Chapter V summarizes the impact of the crisis.The crisis is a turning point in British history,it changed the previous economic ideas of the Labour Party,shaken the traditional Keynesianism,and prompted the Labour Party to begin to accept some conservative and Monetarism ideas.But fundamentally speaking,the real purpose of the Labour Party is to consolidate the foundation and win the supports of the people,and its economic ideas have not changed qualitatively.The conclusion part is the summary of the whole paper,looking at the nature and role of the crisis in general.It is concluded that the crisis foreshadows the change of political and economic thought,and its fundamental significance is promote the change of British society.Although the paper is a study of "The 1976 IMF crisis",it also involves the economic situation of Britain in the past few years and even the whole 1970 s.Therefore,the study of this crisis is of great significance to examine the British economy in the second half of the 20 th century,understand the evolution of the development concept and policy of the British Labour Party.