Will We Ever Learn From History? The Impact of Economic Orthodoxy on Unemployment during the Great Depression in Australia

Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of the Great Depression in Australia, and attempts to explain the reasons why the orthodox economic theories of the day did little to relieve the hardship and suffering caused by unemployment. The study highlights the influence of leading Australian economists, such as L.F. Giblin, D.B. Copland, J.B. Brigden and E.O. Shann, in shaping government policy towards the unemployed. It also examines the role of the Bank of England, which exercised a great deal of control over the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and public policy during the Depression in Australia. The advice given by the Bank of England to the Commonwealth Bank made it difficult, if not impossible, for politicians and economists to introduce initiatives that would have created jobs and lifted the burden from the most vulnerable in society. As banks and financial institutions now operate in the sphere of cyber finance, and trading in derivatives is commonplace, perhaps a detailed analysis of the 1930s in Australia will ensure that the lessons of history are understood.