A BRIEF Look at the Global Economic Depression “The Great Depression” Beginning in 1929 and lasting into World War II
A BRIEF Look at the Global Economic Depression
“The Great Depression”Beginning in 1929 and
lasting into World War II
theGlobal Economic Depression
“The Great Depression”Causes & Results
Causes of the Depression of the 1930s
1. World economy was heavily influenced by US loans and trade during & after WWI.
In the 1920s, the US economy boomed …but
• industry & agriculture overproduced as European nations rebounded after WWI which caused prices to decline & unemployment to increase
• demand decreased for consumer goods (gap between rich and poor in the US)
2. the American stock market “crashed” & businesses & banks began to fail
• 3. Demands for payments by the US on international loans and reparations destabilized European economies.
The Results of the Great Depression
1. Banks failed . . . – Austria’s national bank
went bankrupt– All German banks
closed for a month– Over 2000 banks failed
in the US2. Agricultural and Industrial production dropped
3. Unemployment increased and wages dropped
– In US and Germany unemployment reached 30%
– In Britain 2.8 million were unemployed
4. Global Trade slowed– Value of exports from Latin
America dropped 50%– Southeast Asian rubber
exports dropped over 50%– Japan’s total exports
dropped 50%