The Gold Standard Illusion: France, the Bank of France, and the International Gold Standard, 1914-1939

by Kenneth Mouré

Did French gold policy cause the Great Depression? The Gold Standard Illusion draws on newly-available French records to test the gold standard interpretation of the Great Depression. It provides a history of French economic understanding, policy-making, and politics with regard to gold, monetary policy, and the key role of financial problems in political instability from 1914 to 1939.

297 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2002

About the author

A specialist in French economic history, Kenneth Mouré is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara.