<Li> "Countries that remained on the gold standard, keeping currencies fixed, were more likely to restrict foreign trade ." These countries "resorted to protectionist policies to strengthen the balance of payments and limit gold losses ." They hoped that these restrictions and depletions would hold the economic decline . </Li> <Li> Countries that abandoned the gold standard, allowed their currencies to depreciate which caused their balance of payments to strengthen . It also freed up monetary policy so that central banks could lower interest rates and act as lenders of last resort . They possessed the best policy instruments to fight the Depression and did not need protectionism . </Li> <Li> "The length and depth of a country's economic downturn and the timing and vigor of its recovery is related to how long it remained on the gold standard . Countries abandoning the gold standard relatively early experienced relatively mild recessions and early recoveries . In contrast, countries remaining on the gold standard experienced prolonged slumps ." </Li> <P> The consensus view among economists and economic historians is that the passage of the Smoot - Hawley Tariff exacerbated the Great Depression, although there is disagreement as to how much . In the popular view, the Smoot - Hawley Tariff was a leading cause of the depression . However, many economists hold the opinion that the tariff act did not greatly worsen the depression . </P>

The high unemployment rate during the great depression was most likely due to