A History of Professional Economists and Policymaking in the United States: Irrelevant genius / Edition 1

by Jonathan S. Franklin

Overview

Over the course of the twentieth century, professional economists have become a feature in the policymaking process and have slowly changed the way we think about work, governance, and economic justice. However, they have also been a frustrating, paradoxical, and in recent years, controversial fixture in American public life.

This book focuses on the emergence and growth of professional economics in the U.S., examining the challenges early professional economists faced, which foreshadowed obstacles throughout the twentieth century. From the founding of the American Economic Association in 1885 to the depths of the Great Depression, this volume illustrates why some of the most optimistic and capable economic minds struggled to help smooth economic transitions and tame market fluctuations.

Drawing on archival research and secondary sources, the text explores the emergence of professional economics in the United States and explains how economists came to be ‘irrelevant geniuses’. This book is well suited for those who study and are interested in American history, the history of economic thought and policy history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367873455
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/12/2019
Series:	Perspectives in Economic and Social History
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jonathan S. Franklin received his PhD in United States history, with a focus on business and economic history, from the University of Maryland. He has taught at Russell Sage College and Union College. His research interests include policymaking in the United States and professionalization.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. The Problems at Hand 2. The Money Question 3. On Firm Ground 4. Economists and the Search for Industrial Order 5. Obscured Irrelevance: Economists in the Boom Years 6. Stuck in the Middle: Economists, Agricultural Reform, and Crisis Conclusion. The Legacy of the Professional Economist