IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/prs/caecpo/cep_0154-8344_2000_num_36_1_1271.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

La "debt-deflation" selon Irving Fisher, Histoire et actualité d'une théorie de la crise financière

Author

Listed:
  • Edouard Challe

Abstract

[fre] La théorie de la "debt-deflation", proposée par I. Fisher en 1933 pour rendre compte de la violence et de la durée de la Grande Dépression, repose sur une articulation originale des facteurs monétaires (avec monnaie endogène) et financiers, c'est à dire prenant en compte les variations de la richesse nette et des déséquilibres de bilan. La déflation y provoque une hausse de l'encours réel de dette qui pousse les emprunteurs au désendettement, ce qui entretient la chute des prix en même temps que celle de la masse monétaire. Cet article analyse la nouveauté et la cohérence d'une telle dynamique, tout en s'interrogeant sur son articulation avec les thèses antérieures de Fisher et sur sa pertinence actuelle du point de vue théorique et empirique. Le cas pris en exemple est celui de la crise financière qui a frappé les pays de l'OCDE au tournant de la dernière décennie. [eng] In 1933, Irving Fisher suggested an original explanation of the Great Depression, based on the interaction between monetary factors (money being made endogenous) and financial factors ; giving a crucial role to borrowers' balance sheet and net worth. In his view, falling prices increased the burden of real debts, lowering net worth and thereby urging borrowers to pay their debts back. This reaction makes credit, money and prices fall, thus causing the process to self-fulfill. This paper aims to address the general consistency of Fisher's debt- deflation theory, while trying to relate it to his previous writings. It also questions the contemporary relevance of his approach given the changing institutional environment ; special attention is paid to the financial crisis that hit most OECD countries at the onset of the decade.

Suggested Citation

  • Edouard Challe, 2000. "La "debt-deflation" selon Irving Fisher, Histoire et actualité d'une théorie de la crise financière," Cahiers d'Économie Politique, Programme National Persée, vol. 36(1), pages 7-38.
  • Handle: RePEc:prs:caecpo:cep_0154-8344_2000_num_36_1_1271
    DOI: 10.3406/cep.2000.1271
    Note: DOI:10.3406/cep.2000.1271
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.3406/cep.2000.1271
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.persee.fr/doc/cep_0154-8344_2000_num_36_1_1271
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3406/cep.2000.1271?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Gertler, 1988. "Financial structure and aggregate economic activity: an overview," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 559-596.
    2. Tobin, James, 1975. "Keynesian Models of Recession and Depression," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(2), pages 195-202, May.
    3. Calomiris, Charles W & Hubbard, R Glenn, 1990. "Firm Heterogeneity, Internal Finance, and 'Credit Rationing.'," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(399), pages 90-104, March.
    4. Bernanke, Ben & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1996. "The Financial Accelerator and the Flight to Quality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(1), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Bengt Holmstrom & Jean Tirole, 1997. "Financial Intermediation, Loanable Funds, and The Real Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 663-691.
    6. Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro & Moore, John, 1997. "Credit Cycles," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(2), pages 211-248, April.
    7. Hyman P. Minsky, 1989. "Financial Structures: Indebtedness and Credit," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Alain Barrère (ed.), Money, Credit and Prices in Keynesian Perspective, chapter 3, pages 49-70, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Russell Cooper & Andrew John, 1988. "Coordinating Coordination Failures in Keynesian Models," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 103(3), pages 441-463.
    9. Ben Bernanke & Mark Gertler, 1990. "Financial Fragility and Economic Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(1), pages 87-114.
    10. Douglas W. Diamond & Philip H. Dybvig, 2000. "Bank runs, deposit insurance, and liquidity," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 24(Win), pages 14-23.
    11. Bernanke, Ben S. & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1999. "The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1341-1393, Elsevier.
    12. Bernanke, Ben S, 1983. "Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in Propagation of the Great Depression," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(3), pages 257-276, June.
    13. Robert Boyer, 1988. "D'un krach boursier à l'autre, Irving Fisher revisité," Revue Française d'Économie, Programme National Persée, vol. 3(3), pages 183-216.
    14. Bernanke, Ben S, 1995. "The Macroeconomics of the Great Depression: A Comparative Approach," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(1), pages 1-28, February.
    15. Mishkin, Frederic S., 1978. "The Household Balance Sheet and the Great Depression," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(4), pages 918-937, December.
    16. Wolfson, Martin H, 1996. "Irving Fisher's Debt-Deflation Theory: Its Relevance to Current Conditions," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 20(3), pages 315-333, May.
    17. Michel Aglietta, 1993. "Crises et cycles financiers : une approche comparative," Revue d'Économie Financière, Programme National Persée, vol. 26(3), pages 5-50.
    18. Charles W. Calomiris, 1993. "Financial Factors in the Great Depression," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 61-85, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicolas Piluso & E. Le Héron & Edouard Cottin-Euziol, 2022. "Is Keynes's involuntary unemployment only cyclical? A review of the debates on the formalization of Keynesian unemployment [Le chômage involontaire de Keynes n’est-il que conjoncturel ? Un retour s," Post-Print hal-03826068, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stijn Claessens & M Ayhan Kose, 2018. "Frontiers of macrofinancial linkages," BIS Papers, Bank for International Settlements, number 95.
    2. Cooper, Russell & Ejarque, Joao, 1995. "Financial intermediation and the Great Depression: a multiple equilibrium interpretation," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 285-323, December.
    3. Committee, Nobel Prize, 2022. "Financial Intermediation and the Economy," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 2022-2, Nobel Prize Committee.
    4. von Peter, Goetz, 2009. "Asset prices and banking distress: A macroeconomic approach," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 298-319, September.
    5. Vihriälä, Vesa, 1997. "Banks and the Finnish credit cycle 1986-1995," Scientific Monographs, Bank of Finland, number 1997_007.
    6. repec:zbw:bofism:1997_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Mr. Fabian Valencia, 2008. "Banks’ Precautionary Capital and Persistent Credit Crunches," IMF Working Papers 2008/248, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Emmanuel Carré & Laurent Le Maux, 2024. "Bernanke and Kindleberger on financial crises, 1978–2003," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(2), pages 314-329.
    9. Goetz von Peter, 2004. "Asset Prices and Banking Distress: A Macroeconomic Approach," Finance 0411034, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Cristiano Cantore & Mathan Satchi, 2009. "Credit Supply and Output Volatility," Studies in Economics 0904, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    11. Repullo, Rafael & Suarez, Javier, 2000. "Entrepreneurial moral hazard and bank monitoring: A model of the credit channel," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1931-1950, December.
    12. Bernanke, Ben & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1996. "The Financial Accelerator and the Flight to Quality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(1), pages 1-15, February.
    13. den Haan, Wouter J. & Ramey, Garey & Watson, Joel, 2003. "Liquidity flows and fragility of business enterprises," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(6), pages 1215-1241, September.
    14. Aadland, David, 2005. "Detrending time-aggregated data," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 287-293, December.
    15. Mundaca, B. Gabriela, 2007. "Corporate investment, cash flow level and market imperfections: The case of Norway," Memorandum 03/2007, Oslo University, Department of Economics, revised 23 Feb 2009.
    16. Moritz Schularick & Alan M. Taylor, 2012. "Credit Booms Gone Bust: Monetary Policy, Leverage Cycles, and Financial Crises, 1870-2008," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 1029-1061, April.
    17. Goetz von Peter, 2003. "A Unified Approach to Credit Crunches, Financial Instability, and Banking Crises," Macroeconomics 0312006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Bhamra, Harjoat S. & Fisher, Adlai J. & Kuehn, Lars-Alexander, 2011. "Monetary policy and corporate default," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(5), pages 480-494.
    19. Christopher L. House, 2002. "Adverse Selection and the Accelerator," Macroeconomics 0211015, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. House, Christopher L., 2006. "Adverse selection and the financial accelerator," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 1117-1134, September.
    21. Willi Semmler & Alexander Haider, 2016. "The perils of debt deflation in the Euro area: a multi regime model," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 43(2), pages 257-278, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:prs:caecpo:cep_0154-8344_2000_num_36_1_1271. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Equipe PERSEE (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.persee.fr/collection/cep .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.