An Annotated Précis, Review, and Critique of WIR and the Swiss National Economy by Prof. Tobias Studer; English translation by Philip H. Beard, Ph.D. [This is where I find my strongest disagreement with Prof. Studer. As Prof. Studer himself admits later in the book, the credit clearing function is the WIR’s most distinctive feature and the main reason for its success. - t.h.g.] [During the Great Depression] “Global total production fell in the space of a few years by about 60%.”