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The Myth of Competitive Devaluations in the 1930s

Author

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  • Ljungberg, Jonas

    (Department of Economic History, Lund University)

Abstract

Conventional wisdom pretends that currency devaluations contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. This paper examines the impact of nominal exchange rates on foreign trade of 14 industrialized countries 1929-1939. If the idea of competitive devaluation holds, one should expect an increase in exports, along with a decline in imports, to trading partners against which the exchange rate epreciated. Tests show that the beggar-thy-neighbour effects of exchange rate adjustments were at most marginal. Moreover, there is evidence that currency depreciations were expansionary not only for countries that devalued but for the international economy as a whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Ljungberg, Jonas, 2020. "The Myth of Competitive Devaluations in the 1930s," Lund Papers in Economic History 211, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0211
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eichengreen, Barry & Sachs, Jeffrey, 1986. "Competitive devaluation and the Great Depression : A theoretical reassessment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 67-71.
    2. Eichengreen, Barry & Irwin, Douglas A., 2010. "The Slide to Protectionism in the Great Depression: Who Succumbed and Why?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(4), pages 871-897, December.
    3. Romer, Christina D., 1992. "What Ended the Great Depression?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 757-784, December.
    4. Menzie Chinn, 2006. "A Primer on Real Effective Exchange Rates: Determinants, Overvaluation, Trade Flows and Competitive Devaluation," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 115-143, January.
    5. Alan M. Taylor, 2002. "A Century Of Purchasing-Power Parity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 139-150, February.
    6. Eichengreen, Barry & Sachs, Jeffrey, 1985. "Exchange Rates and Economic Recovery in the 1930s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 925-946, December.
    7. Clavin, Patricia, 2013. "Securing the World Economy: The Reinvention of the League of Nations, 1920-1946," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199577934, Decembrie.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    interwar; Europe; exchange rates; trade; depression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-

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