<P> It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the (productivity, output and employment) trends we are describing are long - time trends and were thoroughly evident prior to 1929 . These trends are in nowise the result of the present depression, nor are they the result of the World War . On the contrary, the present depression is a collapse resulting from these long - term trends .--M. King Hubbert </P> <P> In the book Mechanization in Industry, whose publication was sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Jerome (1934) noted that whether mechanization tends to increase output or displace labor depends on the elasticity of demand for the product . In addition, reduced costs of production were not always passed on to consumers . It was further noted that agriculture was adversely affected by the reduced need for animal feed as horses and mules were displaced by inanimate sources of power following WW I. As a related point, Jerome also notes that the term "technological unemployment" was being used to describe the labor situation during the depression . </P> <P> Some portion of the increased unemployment which characterized the post-War years in the United States may be attributed to the mechanization of industries producing commodities of inelastic demand .--Fredrick C. Wells, 1934 </P> <P> The dramatic rise in productivity of major industries in the U.S. and the effects of productivity on output, wages and the work week are discussed by a Brookings Institution sponsored book . </P>

What was the monetary policy during the great depression