Public Choice Analyses of American Economic History Volume 1 [Hardcover]

This book - the first of two volumes- looks at episodes in American economic history from a public choice perspective. Each chapter discusses citizens, special interests, and government officials responding to economic incentives in both markets and politics. In doing so, the book provides fresh insights into important periods of American history, from the Acadian expulsion in 1755 to the allocation of government grants during the New Deal. This volume features the work of prominent economic historians such as Dora Costa, John Wallis, and Jeremy Atack; well-known public choice scholars such as Jac Heckelman; and younger scholars such as Vincent Geloso and Philip Magness. This book will be useful for researchers and students interested in economics, history, political science, economic history, public choice, and political economy.

Chapter 1: British Public Debt, the Acadian Expulsion and the American Revolution.- Chapter 2: North-South Alliances During the Drafting of the Constitution: The Costs of Compromise.- Chapter 3: A Paradox of Secessionism: The Political Economy of Slave Enforcement and the Union.-  Chapter 4: Why is there a Ratchet Effect?  Evidence from Civil War Income Taxes.- Chapter 5: Who Did Protective Legislation Protect?  Evidence from 1880.- Chapter 6: Political Selection of Federal Reserve Bank Cities.- Chapter 7: Demand for Private and State-Provided Health Insurance in the 1910s: Evidence from California.- Chapter 8: What Determines the Allocation of National Government Grants to the States?

Joshua C. Hall is an associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and Director of the Center for Free Enterprise within the College of Business and Economics. He earned his bachelor and master degrees in economics from Ohio University and his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2007. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the Elbert H. Neese, Jr. Professlãb