Mon Dec 15 2008

Robert Higgs talks with host Russ Roberts about the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the effect of World War II on the economy. Using survey results, financial data, and the pattern of investment, Higgs argues that New Deal policies created a climate of uncertainty that prolonged the Great Depression. Using consumption data, he argues that prosperity did not return during wartime, but rather after the war when government intervention in the economy subsided.