Recent analysis focuses on the gold standard as a channel for the transmission of the Great Depression. Trade linkages, which loom large in the recent literature, play a smaller role. Both the gold standard and trade were associated with higher co-movement at the bilateral level during the...

The relatively infrequent nature of major credit distress events makes an historical approach particularly useful. Using a combination of historical narrative and econometric techniques, we identify major periods of credit distress from 1875 to 2007, examine the extent to which credit distress...