The Oxford handbook of American economic history

American economic history describes the transition of a handful of struggling settlements on the Atlantic seaboard into the nation with the most successful economy in the world today. As the economy has developed, so have the methods used by economic historians to analyze the process. Interest in economic history has sharply increased in recent years among the public, policy-makers, and in the academy. The current economic turmoil, calling forth comparisons with the Great Depression of the 1930s, is in part responsible for the surge in interest among the public and in policy circles. It has also stimulated greater scholarly research into past financial crises, the multiplier effects of fiscal and monetary policy, the dynamics of the housing market, and international economic cooperation and conflict. Other pressing policy issues - including the impending retirement of the Baby-Boom generation, the ongoing expansion of the healthcare sector, and the environmental challenges imposed by global climate change - have further increased demand for the long-run perspective given by economic history. Confronting this need, The Oxford Handbook of American Economic History affords access to the latest research on the crucial events, themes, and legacies of America's economic history - from colonial America, to the Civil War, up to present day. More than fifty contributors address topics as wide-ranging as immigration, agriculture, and urbanization. Over its two volumes, this handbook gives readers not only a comprhensive look at where the field of American economic history currently stands but where it is headed in the years to come.

List of contributors Volume One Introduction Louis P. Cain, Price V. Fishback, and Paul W. Rhode Part One: Population and Health 1. Demography in American Economic History Michael R. Haines 2. Health, Disease, and Sanitation in American Economic History Hoyt Bleakley, Louis P. Cain, and Sok Chul Hong 3. US Fertility Rates and Childbearing, 1800 to 2010 Martha J. Bailey and Brad J. Hershbein 4. Immigration in American Economic History Joseph P. Ferrie 5. Anthropometric History in American Economy Richard H. Steckel 6. Health Policy in American Economic History Melissa A. Thomasson Part Two: Production and Structural Change 7. Agriculture in American Economic History Alan L. Olmstead and Paul W. Rhode 8. Growth and Structural Change in American Manufacturing Changkeun Lee and Paul W. Rhode 9. Manufacturing Productivity Growth and American Economic History Alexander J. Field 10. Services in American Economic History Stephen Broadberry, Louis P. Cain, and Thomas Weiss 11. Business Organization in American Economic History Eric Hilt 12. Executive Compensation in American Economic History Carola Frydman Part Three: Factors of Production 13. The Labor Force in American Economic History Robert A. Margo 14. Labor Market Institutions in the Gilded Age of American Economic History Suresh Naidu and Noam Yuchtman 15. Retirement and Pensions in American Economic History Robert L. Clark and Lee A. Craig 16. Income, Capital, and American Growth Paul W. Rhode 17. Education and Human Capital in American Economic History John M. Parman 18. Natural Resources and American Economic History Gavin Wright Volume Two Part Four: Technology and Urbanization 19. Innovation and Patents in American Economic History Petra Moser 20. Transportation in American Economic History Jeremy Atack 21. Energy in American Economic History Rowena Gray and Carl Kitchens 22. Urbanization in the United States, 1800-2000 Leah Boustan, Devin Bunten, and Owen Hearey 23. Housing in American Economic History Daniel Fetter, Jonathan Rose, Kenneth Snowden 24. Professional Team Sports in American Economic History Stanley L. Engerman Part Five: Government and Economic Policy 25. The U.S. Constitution in American Economic History Robert A. McGuire 26. Property Rights in American Economic History Gary D. Libecap 27. Government and Fiscal Policy in American Economic History John Joseph Wallis 28. The Record of Economic Growth, Business Cycles, and Economic Policies in American Economic History Lee E. Ohanian 29. Banking and Monetary Policy up to the Formation of the Federal Reserve Matthew Jaremski and Peter L. Rousseau 30. Banking and Monetary Policy in American Economic History from the Formation of the Federal Reserve Robert L. Hetzel and Gary Richardson 31. Trade Policy in American Economic History Douglas A. Irwin 32. Antitrust and Regulation in American Economic History Brooks Kaiser 33. The Environment in American Economic History Karen Clay 34. The Civil War in American Economic History Roger L. Ransom 35. Two World Wars in American Economic History Taylor Jaworski and Price V. Fishback 36. The New Deal in American Economic History Price V. Fishback 37. Welfare Policy: The Public Safety Net in American Economic History Samuel K. Allen, Price V. Fishback, Jonathan Fox, and Brendan Livingston