Global Economic Depression Overview

1. A BRIEF Look at the
Global Economic Depression
“The Great Depression”
Beginning in 1929 and
lasting into World War II

2. Causes of the Depression of the 1930s
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)

3. Causes of the Depression of the 1930s
• the American stock market “crashed”
• And businesses and banks began to fail

4. • Demands for payments
by the US on
international loans and
reparations destabilized
European economies.

5. The Results
• Banks failed . . .
– Austria’s national bank
went bankrupt
– All German banks closed
for a month
– Over 2000 banks failed in
the US
• Agricultural and
Industrial production
dropped

7. The Results
• Unemployment
increased and wages
dropped
– In US and Germany
unemployment reached
30%
– In Britain 2.8 million
were unemployed
• Global Trade slowed
– Value of exports from
Latin America dropped
50%
– Southeast Asian rubber
exports dropped over
50%
– Japan’s total exports