The abandonment of the gold standard in April 1933 is generally considered to be the turning point in the Great Depression. After the devaluation of the dollar, the country experienced large capital inflows that were monetized by the Federal Reserve. This resulted in higher credit and helped generate an expansion in aggregate demand and, more important, a reduction in unemployment. 1 According to Romer (1992, 781, emphasis added): "Monetary developments were a crucial source of the recovery of the U.S. economy from the Great Depression.. .. The money supply grew rapidly in the mid-and late 1930s because of a huge unsterilized gold inflow to the United States.. .. The largest inflow occurred immediately following