> where can i find bankruptcy rates for the US between 1929 and 1933?
Dun & Bradstreet kept track of business failures (defined as "concerns involved in court procedures or voluntary actions, probably ending in loss to creditors"), and had a "rate" by year that was calculated by dividing total failures by total enterprises in the D&B "Reference Book." Not totally useful since the D&B "Reference Book" excludes FIRE, farmers, professionals, railroads, "amusements" and "many" small service and construction enterprises. But it is a pretty accurate rate for enterprises that sought commercial credit - which is pretty much all manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and contractors.
Year Total Concerns Failures per 10k concerns 1928 2,199,000 109 1929 2,213,000 104 1930 2,183,000 122 1931 2,125,000 133 1932 2,077,000 154 1933 1,961,000 100 1934 1,974,000 61
from 1965 Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
john mage