TITLE:
The Marshall Plan
AUTHORS:
Jacob Magid
KEYWORDS:
Marshall Plan; Cold War; Economics; Aid
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Historical Studies,
Vol.1 No.1,
December
31,
2012
ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the European Marshall Plan in three subsections: the impetus for its creation, its logistical implementation, and the results to both Europe as a whole and theUnited States. The consequences of the Marshall Plan are further broken down into three pieces: direct economic effects, indirect economic effects, and political effects. I argue that there is little evidence that direct economic effects account for the Marshall Plan’s success. Instead, the indirect economic effects, particularly in the implementation of liberal capitalistic policies, and the political effects, particularly the ideal of European integration and government-business partnerships, are the major reasons for Europe’s unsurpassed growth.