Post–World War II economic expansion

A prolonged period of rapid economic growth after World War II, especially the boom in industrial economies from the late 1940s through the early 1970s.

Marshall Plan: A United States program that provided economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II. Its funding and trade coordination accelerated Western European recovery.
Japanese economic miracle: Japan's exceptionally rapid postwar industrial growth, extending from the 1950s into the early 1970s. Japan's export-led rise was among the period's most striking growth cases.
World War II: A global conflict fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Allied and Axis powers. The war's destruction and mobilization created the conditions for reconstruction and rapid growth.
Baby boom: A marked rise in birth rates in several countries after World War II. Growing families increased demand for housing, schools, and consumer goods.
Long Depression: A prolonged period of economic stagnation and deflation beginning in the 1870s in many industrial economies. Its weak growth and falling prices contrast with the postwar boom's rising output and incomes.
Bretton Woods system: A postwar international monetary framework based on fixed exchange rates and institutions including the IMF and World Bank. Stable exchange rates supported trade and investment during the boom.
Wirtschaftswunder: The rapid economic recovery and growth of West Germany after World War II. West Germany combined reconstruction with fast industrial expansion.
Postwar reconstruction: The rebuilding of economies, infrastructure, and institutions damaged or disrupted by war. Reconstruction generated investment and restored productive capacity.
Suburbanization: The growth of residential communities on the outskirts of cities. Rising incomes, automobile ownership, and home construction expanded suburban life.
Great Depression: A severe worldwide economic crisis that began in 1929 and lasted through much of the 1930s. Mass unemployment and collapsing output mark the opposite of postwar prosperity.

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