Lessons from the 1930s Great Depression
for the Making of Economic Policy

Friday 16 to Saturday 17 April 2010

British Academy,10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1

Convenors: Professor Nicholas Crafts FBA and Professor Peter Fearon

 Programme available here.

Internationally distinguished economic historians will provide commentaries on the Great Depression and the subsequent recovery during the 1930s. Their emphasis will be on aspects which are relevant to policy making during the current economic crisis. Speakers will address topics such as: the causes of the steep economic decline which began in 1929; the part that bank failures played in the crisis; the reasons for the persistence of mass unemployment; why successful international co-operation was so elusive; the links between the New Deal and economic revival; the role of fiscal and monetary policy; the achievement of bank stability and an assessment of whether policy stimulus was withdrawn prematurely, thus precipitating a further economic contraction. The focus will be on the USA, the UK and on the international economy

About the Convenors

Nicholas Crafts is Professor of Economic History at the University of Warwick and Director of the ESRC Research Centre on Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE). He has published extensively on both historical and contemporary topics, including unemployment in Britain during the 1930s and the effect that the Great Depression had on the productive potential of the UK economy.
Peter Fearon is Emeritus Professor of Modern Economic and Social History at the University of Leicester. He has published extensively on the impact of the Great Depression with special emphasis on the United States. He delivered the 2005 Bernard Bailyn Lecture at La Trobe University, Melbourne, on 'Unemployment, Relief and the New Deal'. His most recent book is Kansas in the Great Depression: Work Relief, the Dole and Rehabilitation (2007).

Conference

Registration is required for this conference and places are limited. If you wish to attend please complete a registration form

For more information see a list of papers and speakers

This conference is jointly sponsored by the British Academy, the Royal Economic Society, the Economic History Society and the ESRC.

More on the financial crisis

Letter to The Queen: 22 July 2009 (PDF) - why no one noticed the financial crisis

Subsequent British Academy Review article (PDF) - why no one noticed.

Letter to The Queen: 8 February 2010 (pdf) - measures to ensure the next crisis does not develop unnoticed.

Did South-East Asia Learn the Right Lessons from the 1997-98 Financial Crisis?

Rescuing the housing market - Panel discussion 31 March 2009