Are we repeating the Great Depression? – Barry Eichengreen and Maja Eden

What happens when a world-leading expert on global monetary systems, financial crises, and economic history and a welfare economist come together to discuss the forces shaping our world? In this episode of Thought Supply, Barry Eichengreen of ‪@UCBerkeley‬ joins Maya Eden of ‪@uzhch‬ to connect the Great Depression to current challenges, from the global role of the US dollar to the resilience of central banks and democratic institutions. Eichengreen uses the Great Depression as a reference point, not for historical nostalgia, but to show how crises unfold and how they can be prolonged. Markets, he argues, are not automatically self-stabilizing. Institutions and policy choices matter. Monetary tightening, premature fiscal restraint, and weak international coordination turned a severe downturn into a long-lasting crisis in the 1930s.   The parallels to today are hard to miss. Debates about debt brakes, fiscal discipline, central bank independence, and global coordination echo the same tensions. The key takeaway: economic progress is not guaranteed. When institutions weaken, even advanced economies become vulnerable. https://www.ubscenter.uzh.ch/en/news_... Thought Supply is a UBS Center video series that brings together leading experts to discuss the economic challenges of our time. Engaging and accessible, these conversations bridge academic insights with real-world implications. Subscribe now and be part of the debate shaping our future.   / ubscenter     / ubscenter   #EconomicsForSociety #UZH #shareubs ‪@uzhch‬ ‪@UBS‬ ‪@ubsschweiz‬ ‪@UZHDepartmentofEconomics_ECON‬ ‪@uzh-oec‬