economic history
The Business of Colonialism
In his new book, Empire Incorporated, Philip Stern argues that corporations drove the global expansion of the British Empire rather than provide a supporting...
The Convergence of Antitrust Thought in the Late 1930s and Its Subsequent Collapse
In their research, published in History of Economic Ideas, Thierry Kirat and Frédéric Marty stress the importance of the late 1930s in the making of antitrust. The moment was exceptional for its consensus within the economic discipline and the implementation of voluntarist public enforcement, particularly under Thurman Arnold according to the prescriptions of the Second Chicago School, institutionalists, and the preferences of the Neo-Brandeis movement.
How the AT&T Case Can Inform Big Tech Breakups
Breaking up companies that antitrust regulators consider too dominant can be costly and might negatively impact innovation and consumer welfare. As economists and policymakers...
Industrial Policy From Engels to Eisenhower
Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s back in...
Resisting Regulatory Capture in the 1857 Financial Crisis
The historical origins of financial crises teaches us about changing attitudes toward government intervention into private markets.
A lesson frequently taught by twentieth century economists...
The FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Will Force Questions Over the Scope of its Authority
To understand why a proposed rule could spark a Supreme Court battle over the Federal Trade Commission’s powers to regulate the American economy requires...
How Austerity Emerged after World War I to Preserve Capitalism
In this excerpt of a new book, The Capital Order, Clara Mattei traces the origins of austerity to the period just after World War...
Neoliberalism Beyond the Heartlands
Much of the historical analysis of neoliberalism, both its ideological roots and its outcomes, has focused on U.S. and Europe, with figures such as...
Adam Smith on Self-Betterment and Policy Impacts
In this celebration of Adam Smith’s contributions to the field of political economy, Peter J. Boettke and Alain Marciano take a passage from The...
New Research Shows The Breakup of IG Farben Increased Innovation
IG Farben used to be the world’s largest chemical company and a major innovator—until it was broken up in one of the largest antitrust...
