How the German Crisis of 1931 Spread Across Europe: Evidence from the Swedish Twin Crisis Peter Kugler, Tobias Straumann, Florian Weber1 July, 1931 Abstract The paper investigates the causes leading to the fall of the Swedish krona in late September of 1931. Contrary to the standard view that the Swedish currency fell victim to the sterling crisis of September 1931, we show that it was the German crisis of July 1931 that sealed the fate of the krona. Furthermore, the analysis of international bond markets and bank balance sheets suggests that contagion started as early as mid-May when investors reassessed the connection between the solvency of the German government, the exposure of Ivar Kreuger’s business network and two Swedish commercial banks linked to Kreuger. 1. Introduction The German crisis was arguably the most important shock to the world economy in 1931. The fiscal crisis, the banking crisis, the Hoover moratorium, the introduction of exchange controls, and the standstill agreement – they all had repercussions in Europe and across the Atlantic, even across the Pacific. Europe’s financial and monetary order crumbled, the US dollar came under pressure, prompting the Federal Reserve to raise the discount rate in the middle of the crisis, Japan devalued its currency, and the global economy tanked even deeper. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) spoke of “dramatic occurrences in the whole field of international finance, credit, monetary stability and capital movements, both public and private”, leading to “unparalleled world-wide disturbances.” (BIS 1931/32, p. 5) 1 Corresponding author: Tobias Straumann, Department of Economics/Economic History, Zürichbergstrasse 14, CH- 8032 Zurich, Switzerland,
[email protected] 1 Yet, while there is a rich literature on the causes and the course of the German crisis, its propagation has not been fully explored yet.2 So far, research has concentrated on the effects of the German crisis on the British currency and the US economy, and there is no consensus on how strong contagion effectively was.