the great crash of 1929 by john kenneth galbraith

Moreover, Galbraith focuses on the role of the financiers and the government in the occurrence of the crash.

Publication date 1980 Topics Depressions - 1929 - United States, Depressions, United States, Depressions 1929 United States Publisher London : A. The main concepts in Galbraith’s book focus on the crash itself in terms of the characteristics of the stock market before and in 1929. The great crash, 1929 by Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1908-2006. Main conceptsGalbraith’s “The Great Crash, 1929” has a number of fascinating and informative concepts detailing the events leading up to the 1929 financial meltdown, the reaction by different stakeholders to remedy the situation, the consequences of the crash, and future implications.

In this case, it is the producers rather than the consumers who decide what the consumers want then mold consumers’ tastes to fit these products. Galbraith made vital contributions to economic thought by, for example, coming up with the theory of dependence effect.Īccording to Brue & Grant, Galbraith introduced the notion that modern capitalism is all about big enterprises engaging in a lot of corporate planning and vigorous advertising in order to meet the abundance of artificial wants in the market (416-417). As an economist, Galbraith was a professor of economics at Harvard University. Ironically, on the morning of the testimony, the stock market collapsed, and a good number of players in the market blamed Galbraith for the downfall.ĭuring his time, Galbraith held a number of important political positions in the American government, such as American Farm Bureau Federation’s chief economist, ambassador to India, and chairman of a movement for Democrats (Brue & Grant 407). Galbraith became such an important figure that in 1955, there was a small boom in the stock market and Galbraith was called to testify at a senate hearing to share lessons from the 1929 experience (Galbraith xi). Galbraith was a witty author with a number of bestselling books including “The Affluent Society”, “The New Industrial State”, and the recent work on, “The Great Crash, 1929” (Galbraith xi). John Kenneth Galbraith (now deceased) was one of the most famous economists in American history.

The great crash of 1929 by john kenneth galbraith