Hayek, Cassel, and the Origins of the Great Depression

30 Pages Posted: 5 Oct 2016

See all articles by Thomas L. Hogan

Thomas L. Hogan

American Institute for Economic Research

Lawrence H. White

George Mason University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 4, 2016

Abstract

The business cycle theory of Friedrich A. Hayek offers an explanation for the onset of the Great Depression that is more complete than those of his contemporaries, including Gustav Cassel. Hayek sought to explain why the boom of the 1920s ended in the bust of 1929. In the 1930s, Hayek’s theory indicated the Fed should act to prevent nominal income falling below its pre-boom level, but he hesitated (wisely or not) to recommend expansionary monetary policy in part due to his skepticism of the abilities of central bankers not to overdo it. Cassel, by contrast, feared that limited growth in the supply of monetary gold after the First World War would lead to worldwide deflation and depression. Cassel’s predictions of contraction were repeatedly proven false throughout the 1920s. Cassel’s policy prescription of monetary expansion in the 1930s appears wise in retrospect, but the mechanisms of Cassel’s theory played only a small role in causing the deflation or the depression.

Keywords: Hayek; Cassel; Great Depression; Federal Reserve; Gold standard

JEL Classification: B22; B31; E31; E32; E42; E58

Suggested Citation

Hogan, Thomas L. and White, Lawrence H., Hayek, Cassel, and the Origins of the Great Depression (October 4, 2016). GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 16-41, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2848070 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2848070

Thomas L. Hogan

American Institute for Economic Research ( email )

PO Box 1000
Great Barrington, MA 01230
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Lawrence H. White (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

3434 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

HOME PAGE: http://ppe.mercatus.org/scholars/lawrence-h-white

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