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The mother of all sudden stops: capital flows and reversals in Europe, 1919-32

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  • Accominotti, Olivier
  • Eichengreen, Barry

Abstract

New data documenting European bond issues in major financial centres from 1919 to 1932 show that conditions in international capital markets and not just in borrowing countries are important for explaining the surge and reversal in capital flows. In particular, the sharp increase in stock market volatility in the major financial centres at the end of the 1920s figured importantly in the decline in foreign lending. This article draws parallels with Europe after 2008

Suggested Citation

  • Accominotti, Olivier & Eichengreen, Barry, 2016. "The mother of all sudden stops: capital flows and reversals in Europe, 1919-32," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84308, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:84308
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/84308/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carter,Susan B. & Gartner,Scott Sigmund & Haines,Michael R. & Olmstead,Alan L. & Sutch,Richard & Wri (ed.), 2006. "The Historical Statistics of the United States 5 Volume Hardback Set," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521817912.
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    4. Flandreau, Marc & Gaillard, Norbert & Packer, Frank, 2011. "To err is human: US rating agencies and the interwar foreign government debt crisis," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 495-538, December.
    5. Eichengreen, Barry & Flandreau, Marc, 2009. "The rise and fall of the dollar (or when did the dollar replace sterling as the leading reserve currency?)," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 377-411, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Schioppa, Claudio A. & Papadia, Andrea, 2015. "Foreign Debt and Secondary Markets: The Case of Interwar Germany," MPRA Paper 102863, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    2. Claudio Borio & Harold James & Hyun Song Shin, 2014. "The international monetary and financial system: a capital account historical perspective," Globalization Institute Working Papers 204, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    3. Eichengreen, Barry & Jung, Naeun & Moch, Stephen & Mody, Ashoka, 2014. "The Eurozone Crisis: Phoenix Miracle or Lost Decade?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 288-308.
    4. Philippe Martin & Thomas Philippon, 2017. "Inspecting the Mechanism: Leverage and the Great Recession in the Eurozone," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(7), pages 1904-1937, July.
    5. Karau, Sören, 2025. "Buried in the vaults of central banks–monetary gold hoarding and the slide into the Great Depression," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    6. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/78jqkj5bb48tgb9ah9a0kqhplu is not listed on IDEAS
    7. David le Bris, 2018. "What is a market crash?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(2), pages 480-505, May.
    8. Fratianni, Michele & Giri, Federico, 2017. "The tale of two great crises," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 5-31.
    9. Esteves, Rui & Eichengreen, Barry, 2019. "The Trials of the Trilemma: International Finance 1870-2017," CEPR Discussion Papers 13465, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    10. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/59bp0vqv2b8k7a185vg2hert9v is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Probst, Julius, 2019. "Global real interest rate dynamics from the late 19th century to today," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 522-547.
    12. Philippe Martin & Thomas Philippon, 2017. "Inspecting the Mechanism: Leverage and the Great Recession in the Eurozone," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391984, HAL.
    13. Qureshi, Mahvash S. & Sugawara, Naotaka, 2018. "Surges and reversals in capital flows," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 92-98.
    14. George Chouliarakis & Sophia Lazaretou, 2014. "Deja vu? The Greek crisis experience, the 2010s versus the 1930s. Lessons from history," Working Papers 176, Bank of Greece.
    15. Olivier Accominotti, 2019. "International banking and transmission of the 1931 financial crisis," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(1), pages 260-285, February.
    16. Macher, Flora, 2018. "The Austrian banking crisis of 1931: one bad apple spoils the whole bunch," Economic History Working Papers 87151, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    17. Terzi, Alessio, 2020. "Macroeconomic adjustment in the euro area," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    18. Olivier Accominotti & Thilo N. H. Albers & Philipp Kessler & Kim Oosterlinck, 2024. "Sovereign Defaults and International Trade: Germany and its Creditors in the 1930s," Journal of Historical Political Economy, now publishers, vol. 3(4), pages 459-500, February.
    19. Rakesh Mohan & Muneesh Kapur, 2014. "Monetary Policy Coordination and the Role of Central Banks," IMF Working Papers 2014/070, International Monetary Fund.
    20. O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2019. "Economic History and Contemporary Challenges to Globalization," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 356-382, June.
    21. Galofré-Vilà, Gregori & Meissner, Christopher M. & McKee, Martin & Stuckler, David, 2021. "Austerity and the Rise of the Nazi Party," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 81-113, March.
    22. Olivier ACCOMINOTTI & Marie BRIERE & Aurore BURIETZ & Kim OOSTERLINCK & Ariane SZAFARZ, 2020. "Did Globalization Kill Contagion?," Working Papers 2020-ACF-01, IESEG School of Management.
    23. Ho, Tai-kuang & Yeh, Kuo-chun, 2019. "Were capital flows the culprit in the Weimar economic crisis?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    24. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/78jqkj5bb48tgb9ah9a0kqhplu is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

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