The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1255 - 926 The Economy Surges Forward
Chapter 1255: 926 Chapter: The Economy Surges Forward
Chapter 1255: 926 Chapter: The Economy Surges Forward
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Since the war began, Arthur had never paid much attention to the state of the Australasian Government’s finances.
It wasn’t that Arthur was disinterested in the nation’s finances, but given the economic development of Australasia during the war, it was very difficult for the finances to be in deficit.
In 1936, Australasia’s Gross National Product reached an unprecedented 10.7335 billion Australian dollars, marking the first time that GNP surpassed 10 billion Australian dollars since the nation’s founding 37 years ago.
As per the current exchange rates, 1 pound = 1.87 Australian dollars = 19.33 New US dollars = 25.73 rubles = 27.34 Island dollars = 191 francs.
10.7335 billion Australian dollars is roughly equivalent to 5.7398 billion pounds, surpassing the British mainland’s GNP of 5.502 billion pounds.
If we consider only native lands, Australasia’s GNP in mid-1937 had already reached second place in the world, trailing only behind Germany, which had annexed a significant amount of land.
The GNP rankings of the nations around the world are as follows:
First place: Commonwealth of Nations, total GNP of 84.283 billion pounds.
Second place: Germany, total GNP of 71.778 billion pounds.
Third place: Australasia, total GNP of 57.398 billion pounds.
Fourth place: France, total GNP of 48.435 billion pounds.
Fifth place: Russia, total GNP of 43.737 billion pounds.
Sixth place: Great Lakes Republic, total GNP of 42.331 billion pounds.
Seventh place: Italy, total GNP of 18.992 billion pounds
Eighth place: Island Nation, total GNP of 17.891 billion pounds.
From these rankings, we can see that the economic development of old powers has been relatively slow, unable to keep pace with the rapid growth of new powers.
If we consider only native lands, the GNP of the British mainland has been surpassed by both Australasia and Germany, settling for third place in the world.
Of course, the old Colonial Empire of France fared even worse. Even when including the GNP of its colonies, it still lagged behind new powers such as Germany and Australasia.
Considering only the native GNP, France ranked even lower than Russia and fell behind the Great Lakes industrial region.
However, this was good news for Australasia. Apart from the exception of Germany, which aggressively annexed other European countries, Australasia’s economy could be said to decisively outperform any other country’s native economy.
Having already surpassed all other powers’ native lands except for Germany, Australasia’s native economy can be described as one of the most prosperous regions in the world.
Moreover, compared to Germany’s unstable economic environment, Australasia’s economic environment was relatively more stable, with economic growth being gradual and steady, healthier and more sustainable.
A significant reason for the steady rise in Australasia’s national economic value was the advancement of the war.
The robust growth of the military industry not only promoted the growth of Australasia’s heavy industry but also incrementally increased Australasia’s fiscal revenue.
Currently, annual trade in armaments with Europe alone
could bring the government a fiscal tax revenue of at least millions of Australian dollars.
The expansion of the armaments industry, driving the expansion of heavy industry, along with the rising income of the people in related industries and more jobs, represented a massive gain.
As of now, the per capita annual income in Australasia remained around 187 Australian dollars, with some economically more developed areas even breaking through to 210 Australian dollars.
Under such a context, the happiness index of the Australasian people was very high, after all, income is what the people care about and rely on the most.
The best method for a ruler who wants to be beloved by the people is to raise their incomes, giving them enough wealth to enjoy a better life.
On this foundation comes the reduction of the people’s burdens, allowing them more time, among other things.
If the income of the people cannot be increased, then merely reducing their burden serves no purpose. After all, without money, how can they have the mood to go out and stroll?
Turning back to the government’s finances, thanks to continuous economic development, government fiscal revenue was also increasing steadily.
In 1936, the government’s annual fiscal revenue had broken through 500 million Australian dollars, to be precise, 522.5 million Australian dollars.
This was already a considerable figure and marked a new peak in the Australasian Government’s fiscal revenue.
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However, compared to the government’s total expenditure, this new peak in revenue seemed less significant.
In 1936, the government’s total fiscal expenditure had surpassed 600 million Australian dollars, reaching a staggering 632.5 million Australian dollars.
This also meant that last year the government’s fiscal deficit was over 110 million Australian dollars, marking the largest fiscal deficit year since the establishment of the nation.
However, this was understandable, as not only did World War II break out that year, but Australasia also built a large amount of weapons and equipment and expanded the military considerably.
Unlike World War I, the weaponry of World War II was expensive. Particularly airplanes and tanks, the cost was much higher than in World War I, which is why military expenditures during World War II were higher than those during World War I.
If we look solely at Australasia’s war gains so far, such expenditures were definitely worthwhile.
Out of the 632.5 million Australian dollars in fiscal expenditure, defense spending was as high as 147 million Australian dollars, accounting for 23.3% of national total fiscal expenditure.
The main expenses were military expansion and the manufacturing of weapons and equipment; since Australasia had not committed too many military forces into the war, control over the size of military expenditures was still possible.
At least compared to the defense spending of countries like Britain, France, and Germany, Australasia’s military expenditure was significantly lower.
According to intelligence from Britain, the country’s military expenditure during the last year was several times that of Australasia, with over half of the funds being used on the manufacturing and maintenance of weapons and equipment.
