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Subj: EH.R: FORUM: The Great Depression Was the great Depression a key turning point? The Great Depression was a major peace-time economic shock which had profound social and political consequences throughout the world. In responding to this question I think that it is essential to refer to economies outside the US since an understanding of the international impact of the depression is crucial for any analysis of its importance. This is a big issue so I will confine myself, at this stage, to stressing the role of government and the emergence of the economist as advisor. Under the strains of economic collapse, the nature of economics itself and the part played by the professional economist, especially those in government, changed, The political economy of the 1930s, and its long run effects, is a particularly fruitfull field for study. The credibility of the economist was further enhanced during World War11 so the profession was in a particularly powerfull position to influence policy in the post-war era. During the thirties the relationship between economists and political decision makers matured as the former were used extensively in the formulation of industrial, financial and farm policy. Amongst the questions this partnership raises are : How were ideas transmitted from intellectuals to those who took the decisions? to what extent did economists develop new skills to influence government officials? what was the impact of the perception of political constraints on the research agenda of economists and upon the advice that they offered to government? what networks were established between economists in the business sector, those in the universities and those in government? Intersting comparisons can be drawn between the situation in the US and that in other advanced industrial democracies e.g. Great Britain and totalitarian states e.g. Nazi Germany. Why,for example, did a distinctive American brand of Keynesian economics emerge? What can we discover about the international transmision of economic ideas? All this should be placed in the context of a fundamental shift in the role of the state which was greatly influenced by reactions to the depression. By 1945 many accepted the notion that the state, acting on the advice of economists, would be able to guarantee economic stability and full employment. Peter Fearon, Professor Department of Economic and Social History University of Leicester ============ FOOTER TO EH.RES POSTING ============ ------------------------------------------------------------- Alan M. Taylor mailto:amt@nwu.edu http://www.econ.nwu.edu/faculty/taylor/ Office: Home: Department of Economics 928 Judson Avenue, Apt. 1 Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60202-1861 2003 Sheridan Road tel:847-475-9635 Evanston, IL 60208-2600 tel:847-491-8234 fax:847-491-7001
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