We present the first nationwide value of life estimates for the United States at more than one point in time. Our estimates are for every ten years between 1940 and 1980, a period when declines in fatal accident rates were historically unprecedented. Our estimated elasticity of value of life...

When the Fair Labor Standards Act was first implemented, a 5% reduction in the length of the standard workweek reduced by at least 18% the proportion of men and women working more than 40 hours per week. This analysis, based on monthly time series data from 1935-41 BLS surveys and...

Improving early prenatal and postnatal conditions account for at least 16% to 17% of the decline in ten-year mortality rates of 60-79-year-olds between 1900 and 1960-1980. Historical trends in early prenatal and postnatal conditions imply that while the baby-boom cohort may be particularly...

What motivated men to risk death in the most horrific war in U. S. history when pay was low and irregular and military punishment strategies were weak? In such a situation creating group loyalty by promoting social capital is of paramount importance and in the Civil War was the cement of both...