Interwar Phase 1. Gold Standard Re-Establishment and the Great Depression

After the war, the gold standard is restored. This return to gold is masterminded by the central banks of the U.S. and Britain and implies everywhere deflationary policies. But the currencies’ realignment is disordinate; disequilibria in international trade and in economic growth generate speculative international capital flows. Britain is the first country that has to abandon the gold standard, while other countries remain stuck to the old gold parity, at the cost of further deflation. The Great Depression, originated in the United States, and the gold standard crisis interact, with disastrous consequences in terms of economic collapses, systemic banking crises, and growing unemployment.