Robert Whaples

Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians? The Results of a Survey on Forty Propositions

This article examines where consensus does and does not exist among American economic historians by analyzing the results of a questionnaire mailed to 178 randomly selected members of the Economic History Association. The questions address many of the important debates in American economic history. The answers show consensus on a number of issues, but substantial disagreement in many areas—including the causes of the Great Depression and the aftermath of emancipation. They also expose some areas of disagreement between historians and economists.

A Quantitative History of the Journal of Economc History and the Cliometric Revolution

What do economic historians do? I analyze quantitatively The Journal of Economic Historys contents since its founding, showing subfields, nations, and periods studied, and which scholars and universities have contributed. The timing, extent, and participants of the cliometric revolution are investigated. New rankings of economic history programs are made.

Labour's Reward: Real Wages and Economic Change in 19th- and 20th-Century Europe

Part 1 Wages and earnings across the economy: changes in nominal wages, the cost of living and real wages in the United Kingdom over two centuries, 1780-1990, Charles Feinstein the sectoral structure of earnings in Germany, 1885-1985, Ruediger Hohls Norwegian real wages, 1850-1950, Fritz Hodne, Ola Grytten and Jorund Alme real wages and earnings in long-run decline - Serbia and Yugoslavia since 1862, Michael Palairet. Part 2 Industrial wages: long-term trends in urban wages in Turkey, 1850-1990, Sevket Pamuk a century of real industrial wages in Belgium, 1840-1939, Peter Scholliers real industrial wages in the Netherlands, 1850-1913, Annelies Vernaas real wages in Sweden, 1870-1950 - a study of six industrial branches, Joergen Bjoerkland and Hans Stenlund. Part 3 Wages and regional labour mobility: wage dispersion in France, 1850-1930, Pierre Sicsic real wages and labour mobility in Spain, 1860-1936, James Simpson. Appendix: nominal wages and cost of living series, 19th and 20th centuries.

Is there consensus among American labor economists? Survey results on forty propositions

I examine whether consensus exists among American labor economists on forty propositions by analyzing responses to a questionnaire mailed to 193 randomly selected labor economists who are members of the American Economic Association. The questions address many of the important debates in labor economics. The answers show consensus on a number of issues, including the belief that minimum wage laws decrease employment, and a rejection of comparable worth’s merits. However, there is substantial disagreement about the impact of unions, the amount of discrimination in the labor market, the trend of average real wages, and several other topics.

Fraternalism, Paternalism, the Family, and the Market: Insurance a Century Ago

They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.—Isaiah 41:6 By the end of the nineteenth century most of the economically advanced European nations had adopted some form of public social insurance. In the world’s richest nation, however, widows and the aged, sick, and injured received little support from the state. Without the help of the state, how did American workers and their families survive in the face of sickness, accidents, old age, or the death of the primary earner? The traditional answer is that they survived rather badly, if at all. Social reformers of the early twentieth century and most modern historians argue that voluntarism was a failure, that it was not suited to the needs of an increasingly industrialized, urbanized populace.

Public choice interpretations of American economic history

List of Contributors. Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction J.C. Heckelman, et al. 2. Public Goods and Private Interests: An Explanation for State Compliance with Federal Requisitions, 1777-1789 K.L. Dougherty. 3. State Constitutional Reform and the Structure of Government Finance in the Nineteenth Century J.J. Wallis. 4. Property Rights in the American West: The Tragedy of the Commons or the Tragedy of Transactions Costs T.L. Anderson, P.J. Hill. 5. Did the Trusts Want a Federal Antitrust Law? An Event Study of State Antitrust Enforcement and Passage of the Sherman Act W. Troesken. 6. New Deal Spending and the States: The Politics of Public Works J.F. Couch, W.F. Shughart II. 7. Public Choice and the Success of Government-Sponsored Cartels: The Different Experience of New Deal Agricultural and Industrial Policies B.J. Alexander, G.D. Libecap. 8. Federal Reserve Membership and the Banking Act of 1935: An Application to the Theory of Clubs J.C. Heckelman, J.H. Wood. 9. Local Liquor Control from 1934 to 1970 K.S. Strumpf, F. Oberholzer-Gee. Index.

Economics and the Law: Where is There Consensus?

We investigate where consensus exists in the field of Economics and the Law by analyzing responses to a questionnaire mailed to members of the American Law and Economics Association. These specialists are impressed by the efficiency of the common law, while few believe that the jury system is efficient. Fifty-nine percent conclude that there are currently too many attorneys in the U.S. Forty-one percent believe that there are about the right number—none think that there are too few. Among the other issues in the survey are precedent, contract law, litigation abuse, negligence, nuisance, punitive damages, no-fault auto insurance, product liability, contingency fees, losers paying for civil litigation, compensation for regulatory takings, privacy rights, and the economics of crime and punishment.

Are Disagreements Among Male and Female Economists Marginal at Best?: A Survey of AEA Members and Their Views on Economics and Economic Policy

The authors survey economists in the United States holding membership in the American Economic Association (AEA) to determine if there are significant differences in views between male and female economists on important policy issues. Controlling for place of current employment (academic institution with graduate program, academic institution - undergraduate only, government, for‐profit institution) and decade of PhD, the authors find many areas in which economists agree. However, important differences exist in the views of male and female economists on issues including the minimum wage, views on labor standards, health insurance, and especially on explanations for the gender wage gap and issues of equal opportunity in the labor market and the economics profession itself. These results lend support to the notion that gender diversity in policy‐making circles may be an important aspect in broadening the menu of public policy choices.

Income and Inequality: The Role of the Service Sector in the Changing Distribution of Income

Issues and Trends Service Employment and Income: a Survey of the Literature Sampling Design and Model Specification The Impact of Service Sector Employment on Income The Mid-Atlantic Region from 1969 to 1979 A National Study of the Impact of Service Sector Employment on Wages: Rural and Urban Counties During the 1980s Summary, Conclusions, and Policy Implications Appendixes Bibliography Index

Political business cycles before the Great Depression

Abstract We test for the existence of political business cycles using annual data for the period from 1869 to 1929, finding only weak supportive evidence.