Economic History Commons^™

The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault

Honors Theses

The Iraq War (2003–2011) constitutes by some estimates one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts of the 21st century (Hagopian et al., 2013). In addition to the disputed figures of excess violent civilian casualties––generally ranging from 180,000 to 210,000 deaths––the war has created one of the major refugee crises of modern times, with 1 in 25 Iraqis estimated to have been displaced from their homes by the 2003 invasion (Costs of War, 2021). While much of this violence has been wrought by American and Iraqi coalition troops, violence against civilians has also been perpetuated by insurgent groups and paramilitary …

Where Girls Rule The World: Lessons For Pakistan In The Bangladeshi Educational Phenomenon, Chanze Ahsan

Honors Theses

In tune with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal and the widespread acceptance of education as a fundamental human right, the deprivation of female education in Pakistan presents an alarming assault on its female population. With this, the historical accident that was the separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh serves as a natural experiment into differences between the countries before and after partition. Despite facing two colonizations, Bangladesh has emerged on the other side of history with promising results regarding the elimination of gender disparities in education. How has it managed to do so? And what can Pakistan learn from its journey? …

The Right To Counsel: Criminal Prosecution In 19th Century London, Bryan Mccannon, Zachary Porreca

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Exploiting a novel data set of criminal trials in 19th century London, we evaluate the impact of an accused’s right to counsel on convictions. While lower-level crimes had an established history of professional representation prior to 1836, individuals accused of committing a felony did not, even though the prosecution was conducted by professional attorneys. The Prisoners’ Counsel At of 1836 remedied this and first introduced the right to counsel in common law systems. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy we identify the causal effect of defense counsel. We find the surprising result that the professionalization of the courtroom lead to an …

Essays In The Consequences Of Occupational Regulation, Noah J. Trudeau

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Occupational regulation affects many people across many aspects of life. This dissertation research investigates the consequences of occupational regulation across three different areas of study: economic history, urban and regional economics, and health policy.

The first chapter investigates the historic licensing of emigrant agents. In the period following the US Civil War, firms wished to capitalize on the availability of African American labor. To do so they hired emigrant agents, also known as labor agents, to hire and help with the migration of individuals from the South. Faced with out-migration at the hands of the labor force, some southern states …

Reinventing Opportunities For Argentina: Vista Oil And Gas, Emiliano Cabrera

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

In the last century, Argentina faced an astonishing economic downturn that remains until today, frustrating all who learn its economic history, explore the country's potential, and stay in tune with its political-economic present. This research examines Argentina's economic history, revises the main drivers that signed its economic drama, and proposes guidelines to address new opportunities by encouraging its private sector. By using Vista Oil and Gas as an exemplary case, this work proposes Vista's business model as an initiative perfectly compatible with the primary macroeconomic needs that Argentina currently has that should be highly considered for developing its private sector. …

Dynastic And Generative Intent For First-Generation Black Wealth Creators In A Modern Racial Enclave Economy, Latanya White

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the underlying causes of the racial wealth gap between Black and White Americans: the absence of intergenerational wealth transfers in Black business families. As American wealth becomes concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, the data reveal that one third of the 400 wealthiest Americans inherited their wealth from the entrepreneurial endeavors of earlier generations in their family, some creating entrepreneurial dynasties. An important aspect of succession planning is the construct of generativity. Generativity is practiced through leading, nurturing, promoting, and teaching the next generation to create things to “move down the generational chain and connect to a …

Lessons Learned: Lewis "Lee" Sachs, Yasemin Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

Lewis “Lee” Sachs was counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and head of the Obama administration’s Financial Crisis Response Team in the US Department of the Treasury. Mr. Sachs led the development and coordination of the Obama administration’s Financial Stability Plan to stabilize the financial system during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). He was tasked with continued coordination with the outgoing Bush administration, as well as putting together a team to develop further restructuring plans and oversee their execution. This “Lessons Learned” is based on an interview with Mr. Sachs.

Lessons Learned: William Nelson, Sandra Ward

Journal of Financial Crises

William Nelson was deputy director, Division of Monetary Affairs, at the Federal Reserve Board during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). As the nation’s central bank, chief financial regulator, and lender of last resort, the Federal Reserve Board took the lead in setting monetary policy and stabilizing the financial system during the crisis.

Nelson’s responsibilities at the Fed during the crisis included analysis of monetary policy and discount window policy as well as financial institution supervision, and he regularly briefed the board and the Federal Open Market Committee. He developed special expertise in designing liquidity facilities and was a …

Lessons Learned: Timothy Massad, Yasemin Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

Timothy Massad was assistant secretary for financial stability at the US Department of the Treasury between 2009 and 2014. He oversaw the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which was passed by Congress in October 2008 to enable the Treasury to buy assets of and invest in banks and companies to stem the financial crisis. Massad was involved in the implementation of TARP as well as its winding down; it ultimately invested $439 billion. This “Lessons Learned” is based on a phone interview with Mr. Massad.

Lessons Learned: Andreas Lehnert, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Andreas Lehnert was chief of the Federal Reserve’s Household and Real Estate Finance Section at the onset of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC) and played a key role in implementing the Fed’s research and policy agenda on financial stability. He developed and helped run the Fed’s first regulatory bank stress tests in 2009, and in 2010 played a role in launching the Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research, which became the Division of Financial Stability. This “Lessons Learned” is based on an interview with Mr. Lehnert.

Lessons Learned: Jenni Lecompte, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Jenni LeCompte was deputy assistant secretary in charge of public affairs operations at the Treasury Department during the Global Financial Crisis and later became assistant secretary, public affairs. She coordinated communications, served as a spokesperson, and advised Secretary Timothy Geithner during the crisis. This “Lessons Learned” is based on an interview with Ms. LeCompte.

Lessons Learned: Jason Furman, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Jason Furman was a top economic adviser to the successful presidential campaign of Barack Obama in 2008. He played a key role in most of President Obama’s major economic policies during and in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09. Furman, who had served at both the Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council during the Clinton administration, served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the cabinet. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at the …

Working Paper No. 57, The Plight Of The Indigenous In British North America, Maria Nicolas-Reyes

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the Indigenous population of North America experienced a tragic fate as a result of British colonization and American dominance. Upon the arrival of the English colonists, infectious diseases spread rapidly, disrupting Native American’s way of life and also decimating their populations. This inquiry examines two geographic areas—Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Midcontinent—in order to demonstrate how these diseases affected Native Americans differently. Aside from the negative effects of the introduction of new infectious diseases, Indigenous peoples endured genocide perpetrated by English settlers as a means to gain greater control of their lands. Lastly, Indigenous …

Working Paper No. 53, Mexico Under Neoliberalism, Daniela M. Ávila Arévalo

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that a set of policies that can be identified as ‘neoliberalism’ has generated observable effects on the economy and society of Mexico. Initiated during the last decades of the twentieth century, a combination of external and internal interests led to the implementation of neoliberal policies. The marketization of Mexico’s economy during the 1980s and 90s consolidated ‘structural adjustments.’ Through extensive privatization of what were statist assets, combined with the deregulation of trade as well as numerous aspects of private sector activity, the Mexican economy came to rely upon a low-wage labor export-model that also undermined …

Working Paper No. 60, The Importance Of Industrial Hemp In The Early United States, Olivia Carrillo

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that in the early United States industrial hemp emerged as an important crop. In Colonial America, hemp was a desirable commodity that attracted capital investments into its cultivation and processing. Because of its durability and strength, hemp fibers had substantial worth in the production of thread, rope, and heavy canvas. Not only was the cultivation of hemp important for the development of a variety of household products, but hemp also played a military role, as the hemp fibers were spun, woven, and fashioned into sails that provided wind power for commercial and military navies. However, …

A Workers' Paradise: Re-Integrating Newfoundland Into Colonial American History, Elena Hynes

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The island of Newfoundland is conspicuous in colonial British and North American histories, most particularly and paradoxically, in its absence, a state of affairs which this study aims to help address. Multiple factors, including a paucity of documentary sources and various historiographic trends, have traditionally contributed to Newfoundland’s marginalization within colonial historical narratives. However, developments in recent years have made Newfoundland’s potential integration into the broader colonial dialogue more feasible including the advent of the Atlantic perspective, the expansion of available sources, and the work of multiple regional historians who have challenged enduring historiographic trends characterizing Newfoundland colonial settlements as …

How Does Industrialization Affect (Equitable) Income Growth? Evidence From U.S. Manufacturing During The Early 20th Century, Leonardo Cavedagne

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper assesses how changes in labor productivity from the rise of industrialization impacted total, personal, and corporate income per capita at the state level from 1899-1940. Using hand-collected data from the Statistics of Income Report and the Statistical Abstract of the United States, we conduct OLS regressions and find a significant and positive relationship between labor productivity and our dependent variables. Personal income recorded the highest coefficient, demonstrating workers benefiting the most from increasing labor productivity. This finding allows for exploration into equitable income growth, as the growth in income benefits the workers more than large capital owners.

Checkerboard Of Interests: Native American Tribes And The Politics Of Land Tenure Reform, Anika Manuel

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

People have long disputed over the financial system constructed for indigenous communities and their resulting economic rights within U.S. native reservations. Indigenous tribes themselves remain split concerning the state of their tribal economies. Although scholars have extensively researched the historical component regarding the construction of the financial system we see in place today, very few have focused on the politics and rationale behind certain policy positions of relevant actors in modern-day society. In an attempt to fill this gap, this research paper will focus on answering two key questions: How has public policy shaped the economic and property rights of …

Lessons Learned: Matthew Kabaker, Yasemin Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

During the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09, Matthew Kabaker was senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Treasury deputy assistant secretary, capital markets. He helped design the Treasury’s policy response to the financial crisis; design and implement the Dodd-Frank financial reforms; and address housing finance reform, including reforms at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. Kabaker also served on the Treasury’s Financial Stability Policy Council and Housing Policy Council. This Lessons Learned summary is based on an interview with Mr. Kabaker.

Lessons Learned: William “Bill” Dudley, Sandra Ward

Journal of Financial Crises

William “Bill” Dudley was the executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Markets Group from 2007–09 and vice chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee from 2009 to 2018. In January 2010, Dudley was named the 10th president of the New York Fed, succeeding Timothy Geithner. This Lessons Learned summary is based on an interview with Mr. Dudley.