<Tr> <Td> Unemployment (Great Britain) </Td> <Td> 1.6% </Td> <Td> 7.4% </Td> </Tr> <P> Skidelsky suggests the high global growth during the golden age was especially impressive as during that period Japan was the only major Asian economy enjoying high growth (Taiwan and South Korea at the time being small economies). It was not until later that the world had the exceptional growth of China raising the global average . Skidelsky also reports that inequality was generally decreasing during the golden age, whereas since the Washington Consensus was formed it has been increasing . </P> <P> Globally, the golden age was a time of unusual financial stability, with crises far less frequent and intense than before or after . Martin Wolf reports that between 1945--71 (27 years) the world saw only 38 financial crises, whereas from 1973--97 (24 years) there were 139 . </P> <P> High productivity growth from before the war continued after the war and until the early 1970s . Manufacturing was aided by automation technologies such as feedback controllers, which appeared in the late 1930s were a fast - growing area of investment following the war . Wholesale and retail trade benefited from new highway systems, distribution warehouses, and material handling equipment such as forklifts and intermodal containers . Oil displaced coal in many applications, particularly in locomotives and ships . In agriculture, the post WW II period saw the widespread introduction of the following: </P>

Which helped the automobile industry grow after world war 2