Europe's Great Depression - Coordination Failure After the First World War

55 Pages Posted: 20 Sep 2010

See all articles by Nikolaus Wolf

Nikolaus Wolf

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Humboldt University Berlin - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); London School of Economics - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)

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Date Written: September 20, 2010

Abstract

In this paper I survey and reinterpret the extensive literature on Europe's Great Depression. I argue that Europe could not exploit her vast economic potential after 1918, because the war had not yet come to an end - indeed it did not end before 1945. Both, domestic and international institutions suffered from a lack of reciprocal trust and commitment, which can be clearly illustrated in the realm of monetary policy but affected many other areas of policymaking, such as energy or migration policies. These institutions in turn affected expectations and thereby the extent to which for example expansionary policies could be effective.

Keywords: Great Depression, Europe, coordination failure

JEL Classification: E50, F50, N14

Suggested Citation

Wolf, Nikolaus and Wolf, Nikolaus, Europe's Great Depression - Coordination Failure After the First World War (September 20, 2010). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 3164, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1679623 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1679623

Nikolaus Wolf (Contact Author)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

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United Kingdom

Humboldt University Berlin - Department of Economics ( email )

Spandauer Strasse 1
Berlin
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/professuren/vwl/wg/

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London School of Economics - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) ( email )

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