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Ohlin on the Great Depression. The popular message in the daily press

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Author Info
Carlson, Benny () (Dept. of economic history, University of Lund, Lund)
Jonung, Lars () (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics)

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Abstract

This paper traces the development of Bertil Ohlin's views on issues such as the causes of the depression of the 1930's, policies against the depression, the use of fiscal and monetary policies, and tariffs and public works to stabilize the business cycle. We examine about 80 of his articles on the depression of the 1930’s, published in Stockholms-Tidningen, a Stockholm daily, between 1926 and 1935. This is a small sample of Ohlin's total output of more than 2 300 contributions to the daily press – a number that makes him the most prolific economic journalist of all Swedish professors of economics in the 20th century

Our basic result is that Ohlin was an eager but cautious commentator on current affairs. Initially, he was quite optimistic, underestimating the depth of the depression. Later, as the depression worsened, he proposed bolder measures such as increased public works and public investments as well as an expansionary monetary policy to fight unemployment. By 1932, Ohlin had adopted a multiplier approach. He was strongly opposed to cuts in nominal wages and public expenditures during the depression. Summarizing his views on the depression in 1934, Ohlin concluded that it was not the result of any inherent weakness of capitalism.

Turning to the perennial debate on the originality of the Stockholm School: Do Ohlin´s daily articles show him as a pioneer or as an orthodox in macroeconomic thinking in the 1930's? We conclude that support for either interpretation can be heralded. However, Ohlin appears more radical in his academic writings than in his newspaper articles – a view supported by Ohlin himself in his memoirs.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Stockholm School of Economics in its series Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance with number 431.

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Length: 44 pages
Date of creation: 09 Feb 2001
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Handle: RePEc:hhs:hastef:0431

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Related research
Keywords: Bertil Ohlin; the great depression; the Stockholm School; fiscal and monetary policy; keynesian macroeconomics;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-

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This page was last updated on 2009-12-18.

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