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Abstract:
Recent research on the inter–war years points to the importance of international economic policies for the macroeconomics of the 1920s and 1930s. The chapters, in the second section of this volume are no exception. Tarmo Haavisto and Lars Jonung show how the deflation associate with Sweden's return to its pre–war gold parity in 1922 was associated with a severe contraction of output, but how Finland escaped those costs by accepting as permanent the depreciation of its currency. Isabelle Cassiers shows for Belgium and France how the decision to remain on the gold standard explains the depth and duration of the Great Depression in both countries, and how Belgium's abandonment of convertibility in March 1935, a year and a half in advance of France, accounts for the precocious recovery (by French standards) of its exports and production. Jean–Charles Asselain and Alain Plessis compare France not with its northern European neighbor, Belgium, but with its hot–blooded Mediterranean rival, Italy. While the very different structures of the French and Italian economies render the comparison problematic, once again international monetary policies emerge as key for understanding the course of the Depression...