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Financial factors and the propagation of the Great Depression

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  • Cortes, Gustavo S.
  • Taylor, Bryan
  • Weidenmier, Marc D.

Abstract

We investigate the role of forward-looking financial factors in propagating the Great Depression. We find that a new hand-collected bank stock index is better at predicting the onset of the Great Depression than the aggregate stock market or failed bank deposits. The bank stock index explains almost one-third of the fluctuations in industrial production after five years. Analysis disaggregated at each Federal Reserve district shows that bank stocks capture forward-looking information about debt defaults and credit. Our results suggest that future studies of the credit channel during the Great Depression should incorporate bank stocks to better identify the impact of credit crunches on economic activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Cortes, Gustavo S. & Taylor, Bryan & Weidenmier, Marc D., 2022. "Financial factors and the propagation of the Great Depression," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 577-594.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:145:y:2022:i:2:p:577-594
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.08.018
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    2. Rıdvan Karacan & Mehmet Emin Yardımcı, 2024. "Free market economy: Is the market or prices free? Theory and evidence from the United States," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(1), pages 59-74, January.
    3. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Michał Dzieliński & Alexander Tepper, 2023. "The great margin call: The role of leverage in the 1929 Wall Street crash," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 807-826, August.
    4. Jean-Laurent Cadorel, 2023. "The 1929 Crash of the New York Stock Exchange as a Liquidity Crisis [Le Krach de 1929 du New York Stock Exchange comme crise de liquidité]," Post-Print hal-04347097, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Great Depression; Bank stocks; Forward-looking information; Credit channel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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