Gustav Cassel and the Analysis of the Problems of the International Monetary System During and After the First World War

Gustave Cassel (1866-1945), a Swedish economist of international renown in the inter-war period, has remained associated with the Purchasing Power Parity doctrine. This article is devoted to the study of the break-up of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which occurred in stages between 1916 and 1924, and inspired Cassel. Cassel develops a critique of the monetary financing of public deficits but also of the economists who wanted to re-establish a gold standard at pre-war parities.