Explanations for the decline in labor force participation rates of older men prior to 1950 have focused on the sectoral shift from agriculture to manufacturing. Labor force participation rates of men living in farm households have been consistently higher than those of men living in non-farm...

I investigate why workers' probability of leaving unemployment has fallen since 1900 by estimating the impact of a large government transfer, the first major pension program in the United States, covering Union Army veterans of the Civil War. The pension, because of the program's rules, was a...

We present evidence showing that the course of economic growth and of health, as measured by stature, Body Mass Index (BMI), mortality rates, or the prevalence of chronic conditions, diverged in the nineteenth century and converged in the twentieth. To analyze the change in welfare resulting...

The sources and conditions conducive to economic growth and development are among the most studied and debated topics in economics. If there is any consensus, it is that institutions matter greatly in explaining why some economies do better, over time, than others. Understanding Long-Run...

<DIV>Winner of the 1998 Paul A. Samuelson Award given by TIAA-CREF, <I>The Evolution of Retirement</I> is the first comprehensive economic history of retirement in America. With life expectancies steadily increasing, the retirement rate of men over age 64 has risen drastically. Dora L. Costa looks at...</i></div>