1 / 11

Rethinking the Great Depression

Rethinking the Great Depression. Part II: The New Deal The Depression of 1937-1938 Anemic Recovery of 1938-1940 The Effects of WWII on the Economy. FDR & Economic Policy. No particular economics expertise. Change = f(academic advisors)

sybil
Download Presentation

Rethinking the Great Depression

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. RethinkingtheGreat Depression Part II: The New Deal The Depression of 1937-1938 Anemic Recovery of 1938-1940 The Effects of WWII on the Economy

  2. FDR & Economic Policy • No particular economics expertise. • Change = f(academic advisors) • The problem of “underconsumption/overproduction” (?) • Industrial planning • Reform vs. Recovery

  3. FDR & Economic Policy • Banking • Relief • Jobs • TVA • AAA • NRA

  4. 1933 Economic Rebound • Gold inflows; banks rebound.

  5. 1933 Economic Slide • AAA & NRA kick in.

  6. Back to July 1933 … • Industrial codes & price fixing.

  7. The Depression of 1937-1938 • Ur: decreased to 12% by 1937 . . . then, back to 20% • Production rising . . . now falling by 67% (dur.) • Stock prices rising . . . now down 50% • Downturn worse than 1920-21 & 1929-30 !!! • Why? • FDR continues attacks on business. • Fed raises reserve requirements. • Labor laws raise labor costs.

  8. Anemic Recovery: 1938-1940 • By 1940, back to where we were in 1937. • Ur: decreased but still around 15%. • Durable mfg. at 96% of July 1929 level. • Housing construction reached 1929 levels . . . in 1951 !! • Why? Regime Uncertainty • Net Investment = -$18 billion 1931-1935. • From 1930-1940, Net Investment = -$3 bill. • Contractionary monetary policy.

  9. Effects of WWII on the Economy • Ur: decreased to <2% by 1943. • Gov’t. spending rises by almost 900%. • Rise in Consumption spending. • Economic recovery as prescribed by Keynes. • Were we better off? • Unemployed  military. • Rationing and price controls. • Increased taxes. • Increased money supply.

  10. Consequences of theGreat Depression • An end to the gold standard.--Increased monetary destabilization.--Culminated with inflationary 1970s. • Increased Federalism.--Size of federal gov’t. still growing.--S&L getting 25% from feds. • Growth in the Regulatory State.--What isn’t “interstate commerce?”--Cap & Trade next? • Rise of the Welfare State.--Can SS continue?

  11. RethinkingtheGreat Depression Part II: The New Deal The Depression of 1937-1938 Anemic Recovery of 1938-1940 The Effects of WWII on the Economy

More Related