Second,
I'd like to talk about the causes of the Great Depression.
There were multiple causes for the first downturn in 1929,
including the structural weaknesses and specific events
that turned it into a major depression
and the way in which the down turn spread from country to country.
In relation to the 1929 downturn,
historians emphasize structural factors
like massive bank failures and the stock market crash,
while economists point to Britain's decision to return to the Gold Standard at Pre-World War I parities.
We know recession cycles are thought
to be a normal part of living in a world of inexact balances between supply and demand.
What turns a usually mild and short recession
or ordinary business cycle
into an actual depression
is a subject of debate and concern.