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Economic Factors That Led To The Great Depression

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The single most important factor that led to the great depression was government misunderstanding of economics and the affects of economic implementation. Our economy had experienced many panics and recessions up to 1929 and recovered without the level of intervention of the 1930’s. Governmental tools such as monetary policy, fiscal policy, taxation, and tariffs were used with the reverse of the intended affects and prolonged the depression. The Federal Reserve’s restrictive policies contributed to the depth and length of the depression after the second wave of bank failures in 1931 and the Fed’s 936-1937 policies contributed to the 1938 recession (Hughes & Cain 2011, p. 488). The taxation and tariff policies stifled economic growth and consumption.

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