Reflections on the Great Depression

It is an accepted truism that the Great Depression did more for the development of modern economics than any other single event. Some of the greatest economists of the 20th century were inspired to go into the field as a direct result of their experiences during this period. This volume is about the most prominent economic explanations of the Great Depression and how it affected the lives, experiences and subsequent thinking of economists who lived through that era. Presented in interview format, this collection of conversations with Moses Abramovitz, Morris Adelman, Milton Friedman, Albert Hart, Charles Kindleberger, Wassily Leontief, Paul Samuelson, Anna Schwartz, James Tobin, Herbert Stein and Victor Zarnowitz provides a record of their reflections on the economics of the Great Depression and on the major events which occurred during those critical years. The book is also another chapter in the legacy of the interwar generation of economists and is intended as a token of gratitude for the contributions they have made to the economics profession. Randall Parker gives readers a window into the lives of these gifted scholars and an important glimpse into the world that shaped them.