The French Depression in the 1930s

This paper show that, first, in contradiction with the conventional view regarding the French depression, there are more similarities than differences between the French and U.S. episodes in the 1930s, which suggests the need for an explanation with a similar cause; second, technological change (regression or stagnation) is neither sufficient nor necessary to account for the French Depression; third, institutional and market regulation changes provide an explanation that is quantitatively plausible, but the causes of those changes are still to be explained. (Copyright: Elsevier)France, depression, growth accounting, technological change