The Economic Consequences of the Franc Poincare

54 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2004 Last revised: 24 Aug 2022

See all articles by Barry Eichengreen

Barry Eichengreen

University of California, Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Charles Wyplosz

University of Geneva - Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: November 1986

Abstract

In this paper we reassess the cyclical performance of the French economy in the 1920s, focusing in particular on the period 1926-1931 and on France's resistance to the Great Depression. France expanded rapidly after 1926 and, unlike the other leading industrial economies, resisted the onset of the Depression until 1931. We find strikingly little support for the conventional explanation for these events, which emphasizes an undervalued French franc and an export-led boom. While French exports as a share of GDP turned down as early as 1928, the economy continued to expand for several subsequent years. Investment, not exports, emerges as the proximate source of the French economy's resistance to the Great Depression. And fiscal policy emerges as the major determinant of the surge in French investment spending. Previous accounts have emphasized the role of monetary policy in determining the seal and nominal exchange rates ostensibly responsible for French economic fluctuations in the decade after 1921. In contrast, we argue here for a more balanced view of the roles of monetary and fiscal policies in French macroeconomic fluctuations over that critical decade.

Suggested Citation

Eichengreen, Barry and Wyplosz, Charles, The Economic Consequences of the Franc Poincare (November 1986). NBER Working Paper No. w2064, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=344846

Barry Eichengreen (Contact Author)

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

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Charles Wyplosz

University of Geneva - Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://heiwww.unige.ch/~wyplosz

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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