Great DepressionThe Great Depression was one of the worst and first blows to the world economy. Started in 1930, the global economy experienced an economic collapse. This type of economic failure has never been experienced before and the one that started in the 1930s lasted until 1939 and the scale of the consequences was extreme and harsh on liberal and democratic economies. Most of the world's major economies have been reeling from total output falling 25 to 30 percent, with unemployment rates reaching record highs of 25 percent in the United States and the United Kingdom and 40 percent in Germany. Stock market crashes, bank failures and more left governments ineffective, leading the global economy to what we now call the “Great Depression.” As for the cause of the Great Depression, there is no single set of problems or causes. this led to this economic disaster, but according to various economists and academicians, it was the result of a mixture of interactions of a complex set of factors; economic, social and political. Below are some factors that led to the Great Depression of 1930 to 1939: Stock market bubble: After World War I, Europe and Germany were trying to get back on their feet and only the United States benefited from the victory. war. Both during and after the war, the American economy grew considerably as Europe purchased more goods from the United States and new innovations in technology, automobiles, and appliances were a boon to the American economy then as profits increased, which pushed up stock prices and gold reserves. Thus, the United States became the largest creditor country in the world. The United States began to invest through FDI in Europe and Austria, while at that time American investors believed and invested heavily in stocks. With low margins they were able to buy stocks for several dollars and so the stock market was... middle of paper ......e objective of restoring prosperity and also allowed the formation of cartels and other antitrust activities like allowing minimum prices and restricting capacity expansion and with the monopolistic profits of the cartels, wages were always above the market trend. However, it was not until the early 1930s that this NIRA policy was replaced by the Taft-Harley Act and thus work hours. started to rise. Furthermore, industrial wages were again aligned with productivity and market trends and hours worked per capita had returned to their normal levels and the depression was finally over by the end of 1939. (Ohanian) Works Cited Matziorinis, Kenneth . The Causes of the Great Depression: A Retrospective. Research report. Montreal: McGill University, 2007. PDF document. Ohanian, Lee E. Why did the Great Depression last so long? January 5, 2009. the web. December 12 2013.