60 Years of Marshall Plan Aid – A Critical Appraisal from an Austrian Perspective

Josef Haas ()
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Josef Haas: Oesterreichische Nationalbank

Monetary Policy & the Economy, 2007, issue 2, 126–139

Abstract: Marking the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan Speech, which was delivered on June 5, 1947, this paper looks back on the evolution of one of the most important and probably most successful economic programs of recent history – the European Recovery Program (ERP). The famous speech George C. Marshall2 Marshall , then U.S. Secretary of State, gave in front of Harvard faculty members and students 60 years ago, outlined his concept of a comprehensive economic program designed to aid the reconstruction of post-war Europe, which was stricken with hunger, poverty and desperation. This marked the beginning of a momentous economic assistance program under which 16 European states and the Free Territory of Trieste benefited from economic aid in the amount of roughly USD 17 billion between 1948 and 1953. Of this amount, about USD 1.1 billion went to Austria, either in the form of goods or grants, whereas most other Western European countries received U.S. aid in the form of loans. The reason Austria was treated as a special case was primarily its geographically exposed location between East and West.

Keywords: Marshall Plan; reconstruction of post-war Europe; U.S. aid. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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