Work Creation, Rearmament, Public and Private Investment in Germany 1933–1938: An Input-Output Analysis of their Impact on Employment and Production

Abstract Empirically, we apply the input-output table of Germany for the benchmark year of 1936 to assess the impact of work creation, rearmament, public and private investment on employment and production in Germany during the 1930s. Our analytical framework integrates the Keynesian multiplier into Leontief’s traditional model. Of course one can speculate about the counterfactual scenario of whether or not the NS-upswing would have taken place even without Hitler’s economic policy. On basis of our reassessment we can safely claim, however, that these programmes were a sufficient condition to create full employment as early as 1936.