ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors underline the fact that Spain fared much better than other countries during the crucial years of 1929–1933. For centuries, the Spanish currency had had a special link with silver. The active intervention of the Bank of Spain in the 1931 financial crisis avoided a massive collapse of the Spanish financial system. The financial policy of the government reinforced its traditional links with the Bank of Spain and the credit needs of the government in the end had an effect on money supply. The comparison of the effect of the financial crisis with the years of the Great Depression must be made with caution. The authors highlight how much a different monetary regime may affect the length of a crisis, as well as the type of policies more suitable to overcome them, especially in a quite rigid economy such as the Spanish one both at that time and in their days.
