Economic History Commons^™

Roger Altman’S 2008 Public Policy Analysis: At Fault Without The Blame, Isaac Deak

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Roger Altman published “Globalism in Retreat” in 2009, in which he offers analysis of the 2008 financial crisis, blaming free-markets and globalism as causes of the calamity, only to praise China’s “state-capitalism”, which he believes allowed the Chinese to emerge ahead of the globalists in recovery. This article, despite its age, provides a timeless example of a dangerous tendency in public policy. It demonstrates how policymakers can implement deleterious policies which result in inevitable crisis, and then, they subsequently escape blame by explaining away the crisis with bad analysis and even worse policy suggestions for the future. Policy suggestions, in …

Capitalism In Europe Vs. Latin America, Brandy Mace, Lucas E. Mainhart, Caleb Edwards, Dayton Lamb, Jesus Herrera-Herrera

ATU Scholars Symposium

Focusing on the years 1995 to 2023, what are the universal traits of capitalism versus the more varying or flexible traits, as demonstrated by comparing European and Latin American practices of capitalism. For the country comparisons, researchers have agreed on 3 common variables to evaluate the capitalist practices of a Latin American country with a European one. These shared variables are 1) The power of the country's currency, 2) The informal versus formal employment of the labor force, as well as unemployment rate, and 3) The income gap between the rich and poor. Each researcher will also include 1-3 additional …

Is Asia On The Precipice Of A Currency Crisis? Exploring Regional Risks And Implications On The Global Economy, Hannah Deng

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the economic stability of Asia in the face of a potential currency crisis through drawing upon the historical context provided by the 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis. It systematically explores the characteristics and precursors of currency crises, analyzes the Asia-Pacific region’s response to past financial upheavals, and evaluates current macroeconomic vulnerabilities as well as policy frameworks. By juxtaposing the changes in Asia’s financial landscape from the late 20th century to the present, the study identifies persistent structural weaknesses and the region’s ongoing exposure to volatile global financial markets. It also considers the possibility of emerging markets establishing …

Accounting For The Gift: Theology And Ethics In Accounting, Daniel Sebastian

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Accounting is often assumed to be a neutral presentation of the facts of economic activities and actions. Its double-entry system means that it is always in balance and comports to the rigor of mathematical formulas, and it is taken to be a matter of empirical counting that lends it certainty as well. The dissertation argues that this description of accounting is inadequate. Accounting is better seen as a political tool and technology for producing trust that can help resolve social conflicts. As such, accounting is not value-neutral but carries within it a particular sociality that has moral implications. These moral …

Coal In Modern Japanese History, Tomoki Shimanishi

Japanese Society and Culture

This study investigates the relationship between coal and the modern Japanese economy from a historical perspective. Because Japan has utilized coal since the dawn of industrialization, we focus on various aspects, such as a primary energy source, a trade good, and a substance of environmental burden.

(1) Coal was not only an export good but also the most important primary energy source for Japan’s industrialization. However, coal imports grew after WWI. After all, the amount of imported coal surpassed domestic coal production in the late 1960s. (2) In the end of the 19th century, major coal mines abandoned the butty …

Searching Govinfo.Gov/, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) database provides access to information legal, legislative, and regulatory information produced on multiple subjects by the U.S. Government. Content includes congressional bills, congressional committee hearings and prints (studies), reports on legislation, the text of laws, regulations, and executive orders and multiple U.S. Government information resources covering subjects from accounting to zoology.

Who Do You Think Is The Greatest-Ever Economist?, Mark Skousen

Business Faculty Articles and Research

"Deciding who is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) is a popular debate in sports. Is it Michael Jordan in basketball? Lionel Messi in fútbol? Muhammed Ali in boxing? Babe Ruth in baseball? (In case you are wondering, the answer is 'yes' in each category.)

Tyler Cowen, professor at George Mason University and co-publisher of the popular Marginal Revolution website, has come up with one of the most clever, entertaining ways to write a history of economic thought by selecting his favorite GOAT in economics."

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Matthew Eggemeier And Peter Fritz, Mathew N. Schmalz, Matthew Eggemeier, Peter Joseph Fritz

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

From Canonical Law To Offshore Finance: Confessing To Priests And Bankers In Luxembourg, Samuel Weeks

Journal of Global Catholicism

In this article, I address two recurring tendencies that I heard during a recent period of research on banking secrecy in Luxembourg. First, my banker interviewees frequently mentioned personal transgressions for why many of their clients hide assets “offshore.” The wrongdoings my interlocutors cited included not only clients’ tax evasion, bankruptcy, and avoidance of liability – but also divorce, adultery, and the existence of out-of-wedlock children. Second, with a similar frequency, my interviewees drew parallels between the secrecy laws covering bankers and those afforded to other professionals in the country. Article 458 of Luxembourg’s Penal Code, dating from the nineteenth …

A Pearl Ravaged: The Paradox Of Haiti And Its Socioeconomic Origins, Isabel Ishibe Exel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Saint-Domingue was once the most profitable colony of the Caribbean, the so-called pearl of the Antilles. Nowadays, Haiti is known for being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, a dramatic shift that raises the question of the factors contributing to Haiti's current state, marked by persistent violence, natural disasters, and political instability. Various discourses have framed Haiti as a country doomed for failure. However, relying on binary concepts such as success and failure is counterproductive to a refined analysis. How, then, should we structure this conversation? My ultimate goal for this work is to provide a nuanced analysis of …

Richard Iii, The Tudor Myth, And The Transition From Feudalism To Capitalism, Thomas E. Lambert

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Over the last 10 years or so there has been a resurgence of interest in the English king Richard III, especially after his remains are found in 2012 after being lost or missing for centuries. Prior to this, there are many publications, reports, and documentaries alluding to a “smear” campaign being conducted against the king by either the Tudor monarchs who succeeded him and/or by their confederates and surrogates. It is alleged that this is done in order to promote and make the Tudor dynasty of the 16^th Century (Henry VII, Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I) appear …

Stability And Crisis Response: Comparing The U.S. And Canadian Banking Systems, Sarah E. Boslaugh

Undergraduate Research Symposium

In 2007-08, the United States experienced a banking crisis, as 5 of the 6 other G-7 countries. The exception? Canada, which experienced only a mild recession, with no bank failures or government bank bailouts. Further research reveals that while banking crises have been commonplace in the United States (8 occurred in the 19th century alone), they are essentially nonexistent in Canadian history. I find that the primary reasons for these differences in national experience lie not in the strictness of government regulation or the qualifications demanded of borrowers in the two countries, but in the differing structures of the banking …

The Roaring Lion Of Berlin: The Life, Thought, And Influence Of Eugen Dühring, Arden Roy

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The life and influence of 19th-century German polymath Eugen Dühring remain but a mere footnote in the history of ideas, being primarily relegated to the status of little more than a theoretical rival to Marxism in the German socialist movement and the occasional object of Freidrich Nietzsche's rhetorical flogging. Despite the current consensus on the subject, Eugen Dühring was a scholar of vast, remarkable learnedness, contributing greatly to philosophy, economics, and the natural sciences. The aim of this talk will be to clear the fog surrounding the life and work of the controversial blind scholar and give an account of …

Sartaj Aziz: Public Service Embodied, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

He was passionate about agriculture development, mitigation of rural-urban income inequality, absorption of new entrants to job market Very few Pakistanis have made a name for their significant contributions on national and international fronts and are admired for their personal attributes. Sartaj Aziz was one of them – an active student leader during the freedom movement, a civil servant par excellence, an international mover and shaker, a politician of integrity and stature, and an academic of high calibre.

Central Banks And Monetary Policy In Historical Perspective, Matias Vernengo, Esteban Pérez Caldentey

Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Chinese Economic Behavior In Southeast Asia: A Historical And Cultural Overview Of The Migration Patterns, Culture, And Business Practices Of The Chinese Diaspora In Southeast Asia, Zachary Szklarz

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

For hundreds of years, ethnic Chinese have set sail in hopes of peace and economic prosperity in Southeast Asia. Over time, these immigrants became paramount to the culture, economies, and politics of their newfound homes. The immense success of these Chinese migrants and their descendants is based on two main factors: maintaining in-group preference in business and social life without explicit discrimination towards outsiders and holding individuals who have achieved wealth through ethical Confucianist means in high esteem. Unique among diaspora groups, the emigrants from China managed to become fully integrated in their adoptive homelands, while still maintaining traditional customs, …

National Integration And Institution Building, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

The mutual dependence between national integration and institution building is established in a formal model. It is shown that a decrease in transportation costs, but not necessarily an increase in population size, reduces the equilibrium number of states and the adoption of rule-based institutions. With endogenous transportation costs or endogenous population size, the unification process can feed on itself. The model is illustrated by the state of Qin's unification of China in 221 BC. During this process of national integration, transformations from relation-based governance to rule-based governance happened.

Intergenerational Comparison Of Inequality And Standard Of Living, Jillian Cookinham

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper encompasses how inequality and standard of living have changed intergenerationally. Existing research and a regression analysis examine how income, corporate profits, housing, education, retirement, and health insurance are interconnected in American inequality and standard of living. Data analyzed in the regression includes the period of 1990 to 2021. However, the literature review extends back to 1970. Findings from existing research and regression analysis are used to provide policy recommendations on how the federal government may improve inequality by addressing the housing shortage, revising the tax system, and encouraging automatic enrollment in retirement plans.

The Challenges Of Writing The History Of Localities That Were Under Colonial Rule In The Early Phase Of European Expansion: An Investigation Into Writing The History Of Negombo (Sri Lanka) In The Sixteenth And Early Seventeenth Centuries, Chandra R. De Silva

History Faculty Publications

Local history has been conventionally defined as a chronicle of a limited geographical area. The study of local history can have positive outcomes including reconstructing our ancestor’s everyday lives and providing opportunities for students to develop investigative research skills, develop linkages with locals and to also motivate students to improve their basic skills of reading, writing and critical thinking. Unlike in the West, however, where local historians use old records of their locality, local historians of lands colonized by Westerners have problems finding source material. For example, in Sri Lanka, the Portuguese occupying the southwest lowlands destroyed Buddhist and Hindu …

Divided By Design? Urban Renewal’S Differential Impacts On Economic Outcomes By Race, Derik Suria

CMC Senior Theses

I study city-level effects of the federally and state-sponsored urban renewal program that aimed to improve living conditions for residents in blighted areas and slums. I use an interdisciplinary approach to estimate urban renewal effects on measures of income, property value, poverty, and employment. I first replicate the methodology and estimates of urban renewal effects on city outcomes in 1980 from Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal in the United States (Collins and Shester 2013). I extend this research by looking at a longer time horizon (1990, 2000, 2010) and incorporating race-based outcomes. From 1980 to 2010, estimated effects on property …

Architects Of War: The Economic And Industrial Strategies Of The Third Reich And United States Under Albert Speer And William Knudsen, Spencer David Taylor

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis presents a chronological narrative that delves into the economic and industrial underpinnings of the Second World War, focusing on the contrasting war machines of Germany and the United States. By examining the strategic decisions and outcomes shaped by two central figures, Albert Speer of Germany and William S. Knudsen of the United States, this study highlights how their approaches to war production profoundly influenced the overall trajectory and outcome of the war. Knudsen’s embodiment of the American industrial spirit and Speer’s manipulation of Germany's constrained resources illustrate the crucial roles that economic strategies played alongside military operations. The …

An Analysis Of Post-War Economic Growth In The Balkans, Edina Tahirovic

Honors Program Theses

When examining the economies of several former Yugoslav countries, presently known as the Balkans, it is essential to consider the economic development that occurred in the aftermath of the region’s civil wars. This paper analyzes the factors influencing post-war economic development in the former Yugoslav countries using statistical regression analysis of panel data collected from 2002 to 2019. In this model, I selected variables based on previous research and theories that underscored their importance. To explain post-war economic development, I tested variables such as foreign direct investments, unemployment, migration, trade, corruption, the Gini index, personal remittances, and population. The results …