Banking and the Business Cycle: A Study of the Great Depression in the United States by C.A. Phillips, T.F. McManus, R.W. Nelson

Banking and the Business Cycle: A Study of the Great Depression in the United States
by C.A. Phillips, T.F. McManus, R.W. Nelson

Book Description: The Macmillian Company, New York, 1937. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Hardcover, Green cloth boards with gilt title to cover and spine, First Edition 1937, Inscribed by Charles Phillips, "To Erling Larson with the compliments and esteem of Charles A. Phillips."

Book Condition: Good, spine straight, binding tight, covers rubbed, corners bumped, moderate wear to edges and spine extremes, end papers slightly tanned otherwise no marks, pages are clean, free of marks and show the slightest hint of tanning. No dust jacket.

Contents: I. Introduction, II. Generating the Great Depression, III. The Role of Gold, IV. Overproduction, Underconsumption, and Maldistribution of Income as Cyclical Forces, V. Post-War Developments in American Banking, VI. The Fundamental Causes of the Great Depression VII. The Fundamental Causes of the Great Depression (continued), VIII. Banking Policy and the Price Level, IX. The Economic Implications of Recovery, Bibliography, Index. 274 Pages.

Summary: This rare study by C.A. Phillips, together with T.F. McManus and R.W. Nelson, appeared in 1937 as an Austrian-style analysis of the stock market crash and the great depression that followed. It explores the many theories tossed about at the time, and concludes that the theory "here developed may be called a 'central banking' explanation of the depression. The depth and duration of the depression are held to be the ineluctable consequences of the preceding boom. That boom could never have lasted as long as it did, nor could it have assumed the proportions it attained, under the old National Banking System. The boom and depression were therefore proximately caused by central bank credit expansion." We can see, then, why Austrian economists have long held this book in high esteem, though it has been nearly impossible to find for many years. Murray Rothbard himself picked it as among the 20 most significant economics books of the 20th century.

It is tempting to characterize its theoretical framework as Austrian, as indeed it is in many respects, yet Phillips, McManus, and Nelson’s framework is broader and more eclectic than a strictly Austrian analysis would be. Moreover, besides being packed with excellent economic analysis in a great variety of applications, the book contains a wealth of quantitative evidence, which the authors handle with admirable caution and good sense. They present many tables and charts, but not a single equation. For modern mainstream economists, who can scarcely move a muscle without writing a raft of equations, this book stands as a brilliant reproach.

Collectible First Edition, Inscribed by author Charles Phillips.

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