Theoretical Debates in Bulgaria during the Great Depression

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to understand how Bulgarian economists interpreted the Great Depression, by reviewing the theoretical models they used and the solutions they advocated. In particular, this means: (i) clarifying what made them gradually realise the structural characteristics of the crisis and (ii) identifying the main channels and the main theories underlying the analysis of crises and depressions. The paper comprises six sections. The first section offers a brief survey of the Bulgarian economy and political developments prior to the Depression. Section two presents Bulgarian economic thought on the eve of the Depression according to five intellectual currents. Section three identifies and discusses the two main models of interpretation of the Great Depression—a cyclical and a structural model. The next two sections explain the evolution of economic thinking following the main phases of the crisis (deflation/agrarian crisis and monetary/banking crisis). Section six focuses on Marxist interpretations of the crisis. The last section offers a few concluding observations.

Keywords

• Great Depression
• Balkan economies
• Bulgaria
• marxism
• agrarianism
• crises