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- Title
The French Economy under the Franc Poincaré.
- Authors
Kemp, Tom
- Abstract
This article focuses on the impact of the adoption of the franc Poincaré in June 1929 and the abandonment of the gold standard by the French government in September 1936 on the economy of the country. It covers an entire trade cycle from the peak of prosperity through a deep and protracted depression to the early signs of recovery. It offers a striking contrast with the response to the world economic depression of other countries, most of which began their recovery from 1933 or 1934. It witnessed perhaps the last sustained attempt to impose deflation as the remedy for depression. It broke a secular trend of steady and sustained growth in the French economy, which extended back to the late nineteenth century and had been resumed after the interruption brought about by the 1914-18 war. It initiated a phase of stagnation from which the economy did not really revive until the 1950's. The main question, which is raised by the peculiarities of the French response to the trends of the 1930's, is whether they are to be explained mainly as a consequence of mistaken policies or reflect structural weaknesses, which have their roots in the previous century or even earlier. The economist is perhaps tempted to adopt the former position, which would amount to saying that if only the right exchange value for the franc had been found French recovery would have been at least as rapid as that of similar countries.
- Subjects
FRANCE; FRENCH economy, 1945-; FRANC (French currency); GOLD standard; DEPRESSIONS (Economics); ECONOMIC trends; BUSINESS cycles; UNEMPLOYMENT; MONETARY systems
- Publication
Economic History Review, 1971, Vol 24, Issue 1, p82
- ISSN
0013-0117
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2593642