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The housing slump and the great depression in the USA

Author

Listed:
  • David Greasley

    (Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, UK)

  • Jakob B. Madsen

    (Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)

Abstract

The collapse of residential construction was a notable feature of the Great Depression in the USA. The housing slump did not simply follow the downward shifts in income: rather residential investment collapse helped to precipitate the Great Depression. By utilizing an augmented Tobin’s q model of residential investment, we show that heightened uncertainty surrounding builders’ anticipated profits largely explains the housing slump in the key year of 1930. A combination of forces, including house prices, building costs, credit and demand constraints, and financing costs, is shown to explain the longer decline of residential investment in 1928–1933. Tighter monetary policy played an important role in 1928–1929, whereas financial disintermediation was influential in 1933–1934.

Suggested Citation

  • David Greasley & Jakob B. Madsen, 2013. "The housing slump and the great depression in the USA," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 7(1), pages 15-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:afc:cliome:v:7:y:2013:i:1:p:15-35
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-012-0078-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Riccardo De Bonis & Andrea Silvestrini, 2014. "The Italian financial cycle: 1861-2011," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 8(3), pages 301-334, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing; Great depression; Tobin’s q; Uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • N22 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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