estimated that every additional $153,000 in relief spending (in 1935 dollars, or $1.95 million in year 2000 dollars) was associated with a reduction of one infant death, one suicide, and 2.4 deaths from infectious disease. Global comparison of severity The Great Depression began in the United States of America and quickly spread worldwide. It had severe effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, consumption, industrial output, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by approximately 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as grain farming, mining and logging, as well as construction, suffered the most. Most economies started to recover by 1933–34. However, in the U.S. and some others the negative economic impact often lasted until the beginning of World War II, when war industries stimulated recovery. There is little agreement on what caused the Great Depression, and the topic has become highly politicized. At the time the great majority of economists around the world recommended the "orthodox" solution of cutting government spending and raising taxes. However, British economist John Maynard Keynes advocated large-scale government deficit spending to make up for the failure of private investment. No major nation adopted his policies in the 1930s. Europe Europe as a whole was badly hit, in both rural and industrial areas. Democracy was discredited in most countries. As the Great Depression in the United Kingdom worsened, there were no programs in Britain comparable to the New Deal. In France, the "Popular Front" government of Socialists with some Communist support, was in power 1936–1938. It briefly tried major programs favoring labor and the working class, but engendered stiff opposition. Germany during the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) fully recovered and was prosperous in the late 1920s. The Great Depression hit in 1929 and was severe. The political system descended into violence and the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler came to power through a series of elections in the early 1930s. Economic recovery was pursued through autarky, pressure on economic partners, wage controls, price controls, and spending programs such as