Naval construction as economic policy

Would the Washington and London naval treaties have helped British recovery from the Great Depression?

They constrained a traditional construction-led stimulus, while naval building could distribute work through a wide industrial base.

Large shipbuilding and infrastructure projects gave British governments ways to support employment across many industries. A warship functions like a small town at sea in the range of high- and low-technology suppliers it requires. The County and York cruiser comparison illustrates why apparently cheaper hulls could offer poor value if they sacrificed too much capability for modest savings. The Royal Navy also learned to place later Town-class orders in economically important shipbuilding districts where cancellation would be politically costly.