American Depressionary Agriculture : A comparative study

Abstract: In this study the aim has been to investigate whether the Great Depression in the 1920s and 1930s affected farmers in the United States financially and under such circumstances try to derive its financial extent. A qualitative comparative approach has been the chosen method, where the analysis section consists of data from official documents. The applied theory is economics professor Edward Barber's theory that the growth and development of economies is based on an opportunistic expansive exploitation of natural resources. The essay has been limited to examining the three most monetarily valuable cereal products and livestock. I concluded that the depression was partially responsible for fluctuations in the farmers' financial statements. An estimated $1,568 billion and another $140 million was lost. The financial loss was probably higher due to the chosen limitations of the essay, although the three most valuable cereals and livestock animals encompassed the value development relatively well.