--- Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Nov 12, 2007, at 8:33 AM, Dennis Perrin wrote:
>
> > Was the Depression in the 1930s caused by
> Republican domestic policies
> > throughout the 1920s? Or was there a global reason
> for the crash?
>
> The cause of the Depression is one of the great
> controversies in
> economics. Candidates for blame include:
> productivity outstripping
> wage growth, financial speculation, debt growth,
> increasing income
> inequality, bad central bank policies (e.g., Fed
> tightening too much
> in late 20s, loosening too late after crash), the
> gold standard,
> trade wars (competitive devaluations, Smoot-Hawley),
> bad banking
> regulations (e.g., U.S. prohibition of branch
> banking, which left
> lone banks much weaker than their Canadian
> counterparts, which had
> national branching). Etc. Vulgar eclecticist that I
> am, I'd say all
> contributed.
>
> Doug
Isnt it possible to rank these a little, from most important to least? Weren't some primary and fundamental, and others only accessories?
Looking at the situation today, where many of the same factors are present, which make you most worried?
Or is it a matter of "tipping point", where all are present creating instability, and one little push, like a "credit crisis", topples the whole structure?
Bob
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