If the Employment Act of 1946 Hadn't Been Watered Down

Recovery was mostly finished by 1950.
That depends on how you define it. By that point the bleeding had (mostly, Morgenthau continued until 1951 in some ways) stopped but recovery took longer. The Marhsall plan lasted into 1951 and was supposed to last until 1953. Other considerations include replacing the stopgaps created 1945-1950 and of course catching up to the relative position the involved countries had before the war, which I would argue is part of the recovery.

Assuming you don't accept this another factor for the low unemployment for the period is how much of what would have been the workforce for it died on various battlefields during the war, especially in Germany
 

kernals12

Banned
That depends on how you define it. By that point the bleeding had (mostly, Morgenthau continued until 1951 in some ways) stopped but recovery took longer. The Marhsall plan lasted into 1951 and was supposed to last until 1953. Other considerations include replacing the stopgaps created 1945-1950 and of course catching up to the relative position the involved countries had before the war, which I would argue is part of the recovery.

Assuming you don't accept this another factor for the low unemployment for the period is how much of what would have been the workforce for it died on various battlefields during the war, especially in Germany
I define it based on prewar GDP. And the bleeding stopped on May 5, 1945. Obviously the economy will not keep shrinking once the bombing stops.
 
I define it based on prewar GDP. And the bleeding stopped on May 5, 1945. Obviously the economy will not keep shrinking once the bombing stops.
The Morgenthau plan was dismantling German factories as late as 1951. Rationing actually got worse in many places after the war ended, so starvation was ongoing. There was the mother of all refugee crises and expulsions kept happening after the war ended and continued on until 1950, because of this housing was inadequate and deaths from exposure continued. The health system was shattered and disease was a problem. The bleeding kept on after the war ended

In any case my points regarding conscription and war deaths are still valid, which still make Western Europe 1945-1975 an outlier in terms of unemployment
 
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