The economic historiography of the great depression (1929-1933)

This chapter surveys the historiography of the Great Depression, as understood by economic historians and economists. The survey is organized chronologically, and covers contemporary explanations of the Depression, the seminal works in the field, and recent research on new topics, including evaluations of specific Hoover Administration policies. Today the economic historiography of the Depression is characterized by the use of more advanced statistical techniques and more detailed datasets, although the narrative approach is still alive and well. The field has moved from an inclination towards monocausal explanations of the Depression to the recognition that it had multiple causes, both in the US and internationally. While a consensus has developed regarding the mechanisms that deepened the Depression in 1930–33, there is still substantial disagreement regarding the origins of the Depression in 1929–30.