Lessons from the 1930s Great Depression for the Making of Economic Policy

Convenors: Professor Nicholas Crafts FBA and Professor Peter Fearon

The conference brought together internationally distinguished economic historians to provide commentaries on the Great Depression and the subsequent recovery during the 1930s with the emphasis being on aspects which are relevant to policy making during the current economic crisis

Speakers addressed topics including:

• The causes of the steep economic decline which began in 1929
• The part that bank failures played in the crisis
• The reasons for the persistence of mass unemployment
• Why successful international co-operation was so elusive
• The links between the New Deal and economic revival
• The role of fiscal and monetary policy
• The achievement of bank stability and an assessment of whether policy stimulus was withdrawn prematurely, thus precipitating a further economic contraction.

With the focus on the USA, the UK and on the International Economy.

For a full programme, please click here

For Conference Papers, please click here

To listen to interviews with speakers from the Conference by Romesh Vaitilingam, please follow the links below:

Price Fishback 
Michael Bordo