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Economic Events and Keynesian Ideas: The 1930s and the 1970s

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  • Michael R. Darby
  • James R. Lothian

Abstract

Keynes' General Theory was a brilliant attempt to explain the paradox of low interest rates, ineffectual easy monetary policy, and low investment during the Great Depression. We argue that Keynes' failure to distinguish between low nominal and high real interest rates led him to misinterpret a tight and all too effective monetary policy and unnecessarily hypothesize a downward shift in investment demand. Keynesian ideas in turn profoundly influenced economic policy in the 1960s and 1970s. The resulting postwar inflation -- rather than scholarship on what actually happened in the 1930s -- appears to be the primary reason for the waning influence of the ideas derived from the General Theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael R. Darby & James R. Lothian, 1986. "Economic Events and Keynesian Ideas: The 1930s and the 1970s," NBER Working Papers 1987, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1987
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gandolfi, Arthur E, 1974. "Stability of the Demand for Money during the Great Contraction-1929-1933," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 969-983, Sept./Oct.
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    5. Philip Cagan, 1965. "Determinants and Effects of Changes in the Stock of Money, 1875–1960," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number caga65-1, March.
    6. Michael D. Bordo & Anna J. Schwartz, 1984. "A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821-1931," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bord84-1, March.
    7. Benjamin, Daniel K & Kochin, Levis A, 1979. "Searching for an Explanation of Unemployment in Interwar Britain," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(3), pages 441-478, June.
    8. Choudhri, Ehsan U & Kochin, Levis A, 1980. "The Exchange Rate and the International Transmission of Business Cycle Disturbances: Some Evidence from the Great Depression," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 12(4), pages 565-574, November.
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    2. Tabellini, Guido, 1990. "Domestic politics and the international coordination of fiscal policies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3-4), pages 245-265, May.

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