Balanced Accounts? Constructing the Balance of Payments Problem in Post-war Britain

Abstract

This article re-assesses the character of the balance of payments ‘problem’ experienced by Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and how it was represented in contemporary policy discussion and pronouncements. It argues that this problem had little to do with any underlying ‘decline’ in British economic performance, but rather reflected the ambitious foreign policy ambitions of contemporary governments. This problem of ‘overstretch’ presented formidable presentational challenges for these governments, which resulted in the issue being portrayed in a misleading perspective that historians need to correct.