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  • Experts

Lessons of the Great Depression

Most Recommended Books

A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

“It is an important book because it is the first attempt to link together inflation and output. In some sense it is the basis for many of the books that have been written since about inflation, monetary policy and the real side of the economy.”

Federica Romei, Economist

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Essays on the Great Depression by Ben Bernanke

“Probably his most important contribution in terms of macroeconomics and financial economics…It’s focusing on the Great Depression as a credit implosion, not so much the money supply, which Friedman and Schwartz had emphasized, but a somewhat related phenomenon, which is credit availability. That had been imploding from 1929 through to the trough, early in 1933. So it’s really focusing on the credit aspects and trying to measure that, particularly by looking at patterns in interest rates.”

Robert Barro, Economist

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In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Great Depression was much in the headlines. Most memorable, perhaps, was the Time magazine cover of Barack Obama dressed up as FDR, headlined: "The New New Deal: What Barack Obama can Learn from FDR." Several right-of-centre economists, most notably Robert Barro of Harvard, responded with opinion pieces in newspapers suggesting there was very little evidence that FDR's economic policies had actually worked or could work again.

Below you'll find two perspectives on the economic lessons of the Great Depression: one from Christina Romer, the Berkeley economics professor who advised the Obama administration—as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers—after the crisis of 2008. We also have an interview with Robert Barro on an alternative view. The good news is that there is considerable overlap in the books they chose.

If you're looking for fiction on the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath has been frequently recommended on Five Books, by former secretary of state John Kerry, amongst others.

    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression, recommended by Robert Barro

  • Read
    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression - A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

    1

    A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960
    by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

  • Read
    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression - Macroeconomic Effects from Government Purchases and Taxes by Robert Barro

    2

    Macroeconomic Effects from Government Purchases and Taxes
    by Robert Barro

  • Read
    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression - Identifying Government Spending Shocks by Valerie Ramey

    3

    Identifying Government Spending Shocks
    by Valerie Ramey

  • Read
    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression - Essays on the Great Depression by Ben Bernanke

    4

    Essays on the Great Depression
    by Ben Bernanke

  • Read
    The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression - The Great Depression in the United States from a Neoclassical Perspective by Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian

    5

    The Great Depression in the United States from a Neoclassical Perspective
    by Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian

The best books on The Lessons of the Great Depression, recommended by Robert Barro

Harvard macroeconomist Robert Barro takes issue with some common assumptions about the Great Depression, and how America got out of it.

    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression, recommended by Christina Romer

  • Read
    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression - A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

    1

    A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960
    by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

  • Read
    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression - Golden Fetters by Barry Eichengreen

    2

    Golden Fetters
    by Barry Eichengreen

  • Read
    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression - Essays on the Great Depression by Ben Bernanke

    3

    Essays on the Great Depression
    by Ben Bernanke

  • Read
    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression - America’s Greatest Depression by Lester Chandler

    4

    America’s Greatest Depression
    by Lester Chandler

  • Read
    The best books on Learning from the Great Depression - The End of One Big Deflation by Barry Wigmore & Peter Temin

    5

    The End of One Big Deflation
    by Barry Wigmore & Peter Temin

The best books on Learning from the Great Depression, recommended by Christina Romer

The former chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers says we’ve learned that terrible downturns can still occur, but also that the right policy response can make a huge difference to the outcome

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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