Offering new research on strategic factors in the development of the nineteenth century American economy—labor, capital, and political structure—the contributors to this volume employ a methodology innovated by Robert W. Fogel, one of the leading pioneers of the "new economic history."...

Among the most important issues in economics are how to measure the wealth and health of an economy and the factors that contribute to economic growth. The rigorous study of these topics traces its roots back to Simon Kuznets who pioneered the development of national accounts, such as Gross...

<DIV><DIV>We take for granted today that the assessments, measurements, and forecasts of economists are crucial to the decision-making of governments and businesses alike. But less than a century ago that wasn’t the case—economists simply didn’t have the necessary information or statistical tools to...</div></div>