(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Great Depression


            
             Starting in the summer of 1929 and continuing over the course of the next four years, financial markets, labor markets, and goods markets all virtually ceased to function. Throughout this difficult time period the government policymaking system seemed helpless. Since the end of the Great Depression, macroeconomists have discussed vigorously the circumstances that led to the overall collapse of the economy. John Maynard Keynes theory is central to understanding the Great Depression, and in my paper, I argue that the Federal Reserve played a key role in nearly every policy failure during this period. .
             The crash of October 1929 played a large role in the Great Depression, but was only one of many drivers. The best evidence suggests that Federal Reserve behavior and the public statements of numerous government officials caused the crash. In the fall of 1928 immediately following the death of Benjamin Strong, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Federal Reserve policy became substantially tighter. Adolph Miller of the Federal Reserve Board was able to take control of policy. The problem began because Miller believed that speculation was causing share prices to be too high, and that this was damaging the economy. Herbert Hoover, who had just been elected President, backed this idea and together they set out to bring down the stock market. .
             In an attempt to bring down equity prices the Federal Reserve sought to keep banks from extending loans that would be used to buy stock money. After reading a passage from the Federal Reserve Bulletin it shows that the Federal Reserve Board thought that the increase in debt somehow used real resources, and reduced the level of real investment. The Board was wrong in its beliefs on real and financial investment. Even after the near crash on March 26, 1929 the Federal Reserve policy continued to suffocate the market by restricting the ability of member banks to make broker loans, while the other contributor to the crash was President Herbert Hoover's public comments, supported by Adolph Miller's views, that stock prices were too high.


Essays Related to The Great Depression


Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question