Guido Tagliabue

The article, written shortly after the departure of the sterling pound from the Gold Standard in September 1931, gives an extremely critical viewpoint on British monetary and economic policies in the Twenties, substantially agreeing with the views expressed by Keynes during the previous decade. According to the author, the return of the pound to pre-war gold parity in 1925 was neither a necessary nor a desirable step, given the state of British economy. The initial success of this policy was mainly due to very special circumstances, and was not accompanied by any serious attempt to foster a balanced deflation of the whole economic structure needed to attain sustainable equilibrium in the longer run. Key words: the Thirties; British monetary policy; monetary illusion. JEL Classification: B2, E5.