The Early Post-war Years
Between 1950 and 1970, growth was consistent, with some exceptions. There was kind of unprecedented growth in trade and income for western international nations and Japan. The rate of world trade grew over 8 percent between 1950 and 1970 and incomes at nearly 5 percent. For example, the Unemployment rate in most industrial countries was low (<5%). The developing world was eager to catch up with the advanced industrial countries so they spent a lot of capital importing industrial plants and equipment with cutting-edge technology. When World War II ended, large swaths of the globe remained under European colonial power. Most Asian and African colonies became independent nations over the years. But they were burdened by poverty and a scarcity of resources, and their economies and societies were hampered by extended periods of colonial domination.
These years saw the worldwide spread of technology and enterprises. Developing countries were in a race to catch up with advanced industrial countries. Therefore, vast amounts of capital, importing plants and equipment featuring modern technology. The design of the IMF and World Bank were made to meet the financial needs of industrial countries. The countries were not equipped to cope with the challenges of poverty and there was a void due to a lack of development in former colonies. On the other hand, Europe and Japan had rapidly rebuilt their economies and grew less dependent on IMF and World Bank. Because of this from the late 1950s the Bretton Woods institutions began to shift their attention more toward developing countries.
Many less developed countries and regions of the world have been part of the western empires as colonies. Now, as newly independent countries facing urgent pressures to live in their poverty, they came under the guidance of international agencies dominated formerly by colonial powers. Former colonial powers still controlled vital resources such as minerals and land in many former colonies. Large corporations of other powerful countries, like the US, also managed to secure rights to exploit developing countries’ natural resources cheaply.
Around the same time, most developing countries did not benefit from the fast growth the western economies experienced in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, they have organized themselves into Group of 77 ( or G-77)- to demand a new international economic order. By this system, they meant to experience real control over their natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices of raw materials, and better access to manufactured goods in the market of developed countries.
Post-War Era
In the context of western usage, the phrase post-war era refers to the time after the end of World War II. In a more holistic sense, the post-war period is the interval immediately following the end of the war. A post-war period can become an interwar period when war between the same parties resumes at later date. By contrast, the post-war period marks the cessation of armed conflict entirely.