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Monetary Policy in the Great Depression: What the Fed Did, and Why

SIXTY YEARS AGO the United States— indeed; most of the world—was in the midst of the Great Depression. Today, interest in the Depression's causes and the failure of government policies to prevent it continues, peaking whenever the stock market crashes or the economy enters a recession. In the 1930s, dissatisfaction with the failure of monetary policy to prevent the Depression, or to revive the economy, led to sweeping changes in the structure of the Federal Reserve System. One of the most important changes was the creation of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to direct open market policy. Recently Congress has again considered possible changes in the Federal Reserve System.1 This article takes a new look at Federal Reserve policy in the Great Depression. Historical analysis of Fed performance could provide insights into the effects of System organization on policy making. The article begins with a macroeconomic overview of the Depression. It then considers both contemporary and modern views of the