Farm Product Prices, Redistribution, and the Early U.S. Great Depression

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 2021
Volume: 81
Issue: 3
Pages: 649-687

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We argue that falling farm product prices, incomes, and spending may explain 10–30 percent of the 1930 U.S. output decline. Crop prices collapsed, reducing farmers’ incomes. And across U.S. states and Ohio counties, auto sales fell most in crop-growing areas. The large spending response may be explained by farmers’ indebtedness. Reasonable assumptions about the marginal propensity to spend of farmers relative to nonfarmers and the pass-through of farm prices to retail prices imply that the collapse of farm product prices in 1930 was a powerful propagation mechanism worsening the Depression.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:81:y:2021:i:3:p:649-687_1
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25