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Rosenbloom, J. Advanced American Economic Development
Professor Joshua Rosenbloom Spring 1990
Summerfield 226-I
Phone: 864-3501
Office Hours: T 8:30-9:30
TH 2:30-4:00
Economic 865
Advanced American Economic Development
This course examines the development of the American economy
from European settlement to the present day from both micro- and
macro-economic perspectives. The emphasis of the course will be
on 19th century developments, and the structural and
technological changes associated with the emergence of the modern
American economy.
Requirements and Grading
Your grade will be based on a final exam (35%), a research
paper (35%), and your participation in class discussion (30%).
Research papers must deal with some aspect of the economic
history of Kansas. More will be said about this assignment in
class, and visits to the Kansas Collection and the Government
Documents Library will be arranged to introduce you to the rich
variety of primary materials available on campus.
You should schedule an appointment as soon as possible to
select a specific topic. Among the possible topics you may want
to consider are: migration to Kansas, the operation of urban and
farm labor markets in Kansas, state and local efforts to promote
economic development, government regulation of business in
Kansas, the role of railroads (or other modes of transportation)
in the development of the state.
The paper is due at the last class meeting of the semester.
In addition, you must present two progress reports in class. The
first is scheduled for March 8, at which time you should plan to
describe the major issues you intend to explore and summarize
secondary literature dealing with your topic. At the second
presentation, scheduled for April 19, you should plan on
presenting the preliminary results of your research.
Reading
The following books are available for purchase at the Kansas
University Bookstore:
Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., The Visible Hand
Gavin Wright, The Political Economy of the Cotton South
Peter Temin, Did Monetary Forces Cause the Great Depression?
In addition the bookstore has copies of Susan P. Lee and
Peter Passell, A New Economic View of American History. This
book is not required, but contains useful summaries of many of
the topics which will be covered in this course.
All other required books will be placed on reserve at Watson
Library. Bound journals are located in the Watson library
periodicals room and in the stacks.
Abbreviations
AER American Economic Review
BHR Business History Review
EEH Explorations in Economic History
EI Economic Inquiry
IR Industrial Relations
JAH Journal of American History
JEH Journal of Economic History
JIH Journal of Interdisciplinary History
JPE Journal of Political Economy
QJE Quarterly Journal of Economics
SEJ Southern Economic Journal
WMQ William and Mary Quarterly
Topics and Readings
Items preceeded by a * are required; all others are recommended.
1/18 Perspectives on Economic History
* P. David, Technical Choice, Innovation and Economic
Growth, pp. 1-16
* W.N. Parker, ed., Economic History and the Modern
Economist, chs. 1-4, 8
A. Maddison, Phases of Capitalist Development, ch. 1
W.N. Parker, "The Historiography of American Economic
History," in Glenn Porter, ed. Encyclopedia of American
Economic History
1/23 Macroeconomic Growth Before 1840
M. Abramovitz, Thinking About Growth, ch. 1
* J.J. McCusker and R.R. Menard, The Economy of British
America, 1607-1789, chs. 3, 12
* P. David, "The Growth of Real Product in the United States
Before 1840: New Evidence, Controlled Conjectures," JEH 27
(June 1967)
T. Weiss, "Economic Growth Before 1840: Revised
Conjectures" (unpublished)
R. Gallman, "The Statistical Approach: Fundamental
Concepts as Applied to History," in G. Taylor and L.
Elsworth, eds., Approaches to American Economic History
1/30 The Colonial Background and the Causes of Revolution
* J.J. McCusker and R.R. Menard, The Economy of British
America, chs. 1, 2, 4
M. Egnal, "The Economic Development of the American
Colonies 1720 to 1775," WMQ 32 (April 1975)
* D. Galenson, "The Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude:
An Economic Analysis," JEH 44 (March 1984)
* M. Egnal and J.A. Ernst, "An Economic Interpretation of
the American Revolution," WMQ 29 (January 1972)
2/1 The Early Republic: Background Developments
* D.C. North, The Economic Growth of the United States,
1790-1860, chs. 2-5
* E. Haites, J. Mak, and G. Walton, Western River
Transportation, chs. 1, 2, 6, 7
* A. Fishlow, "The Dynamics of Railroad Extension into the
West," in R. Fogel and S. Engerman, eds., The
Reinterpretation of American Economic History
G. Bjork, "The Weaning of the American Economy:
Independence, Market Changes, and Economic Development,"
JEH 24 (December 1964)
2/6 The Growth of Manufacturing in the Northeast
* A.D. Chandler, Jr., "Anthracite Coal and the Beginnings of
the Industrial Revolution in the U.S.," BHR 46 (Summer
1972)
K. Sokoloff, "Was the Transition from the Artisanal Shop
to the Nonmechanized Factory Associated with Gains in
Efficiency? Evidence from the U.S. Manufacturing Censuses
of 1820 and 1850," EEH 21 (October 1984)
* A. Field, "Sectoral Shift in Antebellum Massachusetss: A
Reconsideration," EEH 15 (April 1978)
* G. Wright, "Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles Before
1880," JEH 39 (September 1979)
J.S. Heckman, "The Product Cycle and New England
Textiles," QJE 94 (June 1980)
R. Zevin, "The Growth of Cotton Textile Production After
1815," in R. Fogel and S. Engerman, eds., Reinterpretation
2/8 Labor Scarcity and the American System of Manufacturing
* S.B. Saul, ed., Technological Change: The U.S. and
Britain in the 19th Century, chs. by Habakkuk, and Ames
and Rosenberg
P. Temin, "Labor Scarcity and the Problem of American
Industrial Efficiency in the 1850s," JEH 26 (September
1966)
* P. David, Technical Choice, ch. 1
* A. Field, "Land Abundance, Interest/Profit, and 19th
Century American and British Technology," JEH 43 (June
1983)
D. Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production,
ch. 1
J.A. James and J.S. Skinner, "The Resolution of the Labor
Scarcity Paradox," JEH 45 (September 1985)
2/13 Aspects of Northern Agricultural Development
J. Atack and F. Bateman, "Yankee Farming and Settlement in
the Old Northwest," in D.C. Klingaman and R.K. Vedder,
eds., Essays on the Economy of the Old Northwest
* P. David, Technical Choice, ch. 4
* A. Olmstead, "The Mechanization of Reaping and Mowing,"
JEH 35 (June 1975)
2/15 Economic Analysis of Slave Agriculture
* R. Fogel, Without Consent or Contract, chs. 1, 3
* Y. Yasuba, "The Profitability and Viability of Plantation
Slavery in the U.S.," in R. Fogel and S. Engerman, eds.,
Reinterpretation
* R. Fogel and S. Engerman, "Explaining the Relative
Efficiency of Slave Agriculture," AER 67 (June 1977), and
subsequent exchange in AER 69 (March 1979)
R. Fogel and S. Engerman, Time on the Cross
P. David, et al, Reckoning With Slavery
2/20 Economic Analysis of Slave Agriculture (cont.)
* G. Wright, The Political Economy of the Cotton South, chs.
3-5
H. Fleisig, "Slavery, the Supply of Labor and the
Industrialization of the South," JEH 36 (September 1976)
R.E. Gallman and R.V. Anderson, "Slaves as Fixed Capital,"
JAH 64 (June 1977)
* F. Bateman and T. Weiss, A Deplorable Scarcity, chs. 1, 5,
6
2/22 Emancipation and the Aftermath of Slavery
* R. Ransom and R. Sutch, One Kind of Freedom, chs. 1, 3-5
* G. Wright, Old South, New South, chs. 2, 4
L. Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long
G. Jaynes, Branches Without Roots,
2/27 Late 19th Century Macro Growth: "The Grand Traverse"
* P. David, "Invention and Accumulation in America's Growth:
A Nineteenth-Century Parable," Carnegie-Rochester
Conference Series on Public Policy 6 (1977)
* J. G. Williamson, Late 19th Century American Development,
ch. 5
* L. Davis and R. Gallman, "Capital Formation in the U.S.
during the 19th Century," Cambridge Economic History of
Europe, vol II, pt. 2
3/1 Micro/Macro Interactions in Late 19th Century Growth
* R. Sylla, "Federal Policy, Banking Market Structure, and
Capital Mobilization in the U.S., 1863-1913," JEH 29
(December 1969)
* J.A. James, Money and Capital Markets in Postbellum
America, chs. 1, 6, 7
R.A. Easterlin, "Population Change and Farm Settlement in
the Northern United States," JEH 36 (March 1976)
P. David and W. Sundstrom, "Old Age Security Motives,
Labor Markets and Farm Family Fertility in antebellum
America," EEH 25 (April 1988)
P. David and W. Sanderson, "Rudimentary Contraceptive
Methods and the American Transition to Marital Fertility
Control, 1855-1915," in S. Engerman and R. Gallman, eds.,
Long Term Factors in American Economic Growth
3/6 Railroads, Technology, and Late 19th Century Growth
* R. Fogel, "Notes on the Social Savings Controversy," JEH
39 (March 1979)
* P. David, Technical Choice, ch. 6
L. Mercer, "Land Grants to American Railroads: Social Cost
or Social Benefit," BHR 44 (Summer 1969)
* N. Rosenberg, "Technological Change in the Machine Tool
Industry, 1840-1910," JEH 23 (December 1963), reprinted
in N. Rosenberg, Perspectives on Technology
D. Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production,
chs. 5-6
3/8 Class Research Presentations
3/20 The Rise of Big Business
* A.D. Chandler, Jr., The Visible Hand, chs. 9-11
* C. McCurdy, "American Law and the Marketing Structure of
the Large Corporation, 1875-
N. Lamoreaux, The Great Merger Movement, chs. 1-4
* J.A. James, "Structural Change in American Manufacturing,"
JEH 43 (June 1983)
J. Atack, "Economies of Scale and Efficiency Gains in the
Rise of the Factory in America, 1820-1900," in Peter
Kilby, ed., Quantity and Quiddity
3/22 Regulation and the State
* T. McCraw, "Regulation in America: A Review Article," BHR
(Summer 1975)
* J.R.T. Hughes, The Governmental Habit, ch. 4
P. MacAvoy, The Economic Effects of Regulation
G. Kolko, Railroads and Regulation, 1877-1916
A. Mayhew, "A Reappraisal of the Causes of Farm Protest in
the United States, 1870-1900," JEH 32 (June 1972)
3/27 Immigration and Inequality
* M. Piore, Birds of Passage, pp. 50-81, 147-66
C. Erickson, American Industry and the European Immigrant,
1860-1885, chs. 4, 7
J.A. Dunlevy and H.A. Gemery, "Economic Opportunity and
the Response of 'Old' and 'New' Migrants to the United
States," JEH 38 (December 1978)
* G. Wright, Old South, New South, pp. 71-80
* J.G. Williamson and P. Lindert, American Inequality, chs.
4, 13
3/29 Labor in American Economic History
D. Montgomery, The Fall of the House of Labor, ch. 1
* J. Sachs, "The Changing Cyclical Behavior of Wages and
Prices: 1890-1976," AER 70 (March 1980)
W. Sundstrom, "Was There a Golden Age of Flexible Wages?
Cyclical Labor-Market Adjustment in Ohio Manufacturing,
1892-1910," (unpublished)
* S. Jacoby, "The Development of Internal Labor Markets in
American Manufacturing Firms," in P. Osterman, ed.,
Internal Labor Markets
* W. Sundstrom, "Internal Labor Markets Before World War I:
On-the-Job Training and Employee Promotion," EEH 25
(October 1988)
S.B. Carter, "The Changing Importance of Lifetime Jobs,
1892-1978," IR 27 (Fall 1988)
* C. Goldin, "The Work and Wages of Single Women, 1870 to
1920," JEH 40 (March 1980)
E.J. Rotella, From Home to Office: U.S. Women at Work,
1870-1930, chs. 2-3
4/3 The Progressive Era and After
R. Weibe, Businessmen and Reform, chs. 1, 9
* J.R.T. Hughes, The Governmental Habit, ch. 5
* R. Higgs, "Crisis, Bigger Government and Ideological
Change: Two Hypotheses on the Ratchet Phenomenon," EEH 22
(January 1985)
E. Berkowitz and K. McQuaid, Creating the Welfare State:
Political Economy of Twentieth-Century Reform, chs. 1-2
P.A.C. Koistinen, "The Industrial-Military Complex in
Historical Perspective: World War I," BHR 41 (Winter 1967)
4/5 The "New Era" of the 1920s
P. Fearon, War, Prosperity and Depression: The U.S.
Economy, 1917-1945, chs. 1-4
* A.D. Chandler, Jr., The Visible Hand, ch. 14
* W. Devine, "From Shafts to Wires: Historical Perspectives
on Electrification," JEH 43 (June 1983)
D. Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production,
ch. 6
H.T. Johnson, "Postwar Optimism and the Rural Financial
Crisis of the 1920s," EEH 11 (1973/1974)
4/10 The Causes of the Great Depression
M. Friedman and A. Schwartz, A Monetary History of the
U.S., ch. 7
* P. Temin, Did Monetary Forces Cause the Great Depression?
D. Wheelock, "The Strategy and Consistency of Federal
Reserve Monetary Policy, 1924-1933," EEH 26 (October 1989)
A. Field, "Asset Exchanges and the Transactions Demand for
Money," AER 74 (March 1984)
A. Field, "A New Interpretation of the Onset of the Great
Depression," JEH 44 (June 1984)
B.S. Bernanke, "Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial
Crisis in Propegation of the Great Depression," AER 73
(June 1983)
* R. Zevin, "The Economics of Normalcy," JEH 41 (March 1982)
F.S. Mishkin, "The Household Balance Sheet and the Great
Depression," JEH 38 (December 1978)
G. Sirkin, "The Stock Market of 1929 Revisited," BHR 49
(summer 1975)
C. Barber, "On the Origins of the Great Depression," SEJ
44 (January 1978)
4/12 The Causes of the Great Depression (Cont.)
* M. Bernstein, The Great Depression: Delayed Recovery and
Economic Change in America, 1929-1939, chs. 1-2
* P. Fearon, War, Prosperity and Depression, ch. 7
C. Kindleberger, The World in Depression, 1929-1939, chs.
1, 14
* B.S. Bernanke, "Employment, Hours, and Earnings i the
Depression: An Analysis of Eight Manufacturing
Industries," AER 76 (1986)
M.R. Darby, "Three-and-a-half Million U.S. Employees Have
Been Mislaid: Or, an Explanation of Unemployment, 1934-
1941," JPE 84 (February 1976)
J.R. Kesselman and N.E. Savin, "Three-and-a-Half Million
Workers Never Were Lost," Economic Inquiry 16 (April 1978)
4/17 New Deal Policies
P. Fearon, War, Prosperity and Depression, chs. 10-16
E.C. Brown, "Fiscal Policy in the Thirties: A
Reappraisal," AER 46 (December 1956)
L. Peppers, "Full Employment Surplus Analysis: the 1930s,"
EEH 10 (winter 1973)
* J.J. Wallis, "The Birth of the Old Federalism: Financing
the New Deal, 1932-1940," JEH 44 (March 1984)
* M. Weinstein, "Some Macroeconomic Impacts of NIRA, 1933-
35," in K. Brunner, ed., The Great Depression Revisited
* W. Whatley, "Labor for the Picking: The New Deal in the
South, 1932-1940," JEH (December 1983)
J.R. Davis, The New Economics and the Old Economists
E. Berkowitz and K. McQuaid, Creating the Welfare State,
chs. 5-6
4/19 Class Research Presentations
4/24 The Post-World War II Boom
* R.J. Gordon, "Postwar Macroeconomics: The Evoloution of
Events and Ideas," in Martin Feldstein, ed. The American
Economy in Transition
* B. Bluestone and B. Harrison, The Deindustrialization of
America, chs. 5-6
G. Nash, The American West in the Twentieth Century, chs.
5-6
G. Wright, Old South, New South, chs. 7-8
4/26 Social and Demographic Changes Since the War
* R. Easterlin, "The American Population Since 1940," in
Martin Feldstein, ed., The American Economy in Transition
* C. Goldin, "The Changing Economic Role of Women: A
Quantitative Approach," JIH 13 (1983)
C. Goldin, "The Gender Gap in Historical Perspective," in
P. Kilby, ed., Quantity and Quiddity
5/1 The Productivity Slowdown and the Sources of American
Industrial Competitiveness
* M. Abramovitz, "Catching Up, Forging Ahead and Falling
Behind," JEH 46 (June 1986)
A. Maddison, Phases of Capitalist Development, ch. 2
* W.J. Baumol, S.A.B. Blackman and E.N. Wolf, Productivity
and American Leadership: the Long View, chs. 4, 6
M.R. Darby, "The U.S. Productivity Slowdown: a Case of
Statistical Myopia," AER 74 (June 1983)
* S.S. Cohen and J. Zysman, Manufacturing Matters, chs. 2,
4, 5
5/3 The Big Picture
* N. Rosenberg, Inside the Black Box, chs. 7, 11-12
* M. Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations, chs. 2, 4