Search Results
Journal Article
The Rise and Decline of Petersburg, Va.
Early Virginians looked at Petersburg, with its location on the Appomattox River, as a town of economic vibrancy and promise. Incorporated in 1748 by the Virginia General Assembly, the town fulfilled that early promise and grew to become the commonwealth's third independent city in 1850. But turmoil as well as prosperity for Petersburg were ahead. {{p}} Throughout its 270 years, three factors have dominated Petersburg's economic history: tobacco, trade, and transportation. The city's early economic prominence was due to its tobacco plantations and warehouses as well as various mills powered ...
Working Paper
The Effect of Fertility on Mothers’ Labor Supply over the Last Two Centuries
This paper documents the evolving impact of childbearing on the work activity of mothers. Based on a compiled dataset of 441 censuses and surveys between 1787 and 2015, representing 103 countries and 48.4 million mothers, we document three main findings: (1) the effect of fertility on labor supply is small and typically indistinguishable from zero at low levels of development and economically large and negative at higher levels of development; (2) this negative gradient is remarkably consistent across histories of currently developed countries and contemporary cross-sections of countries; and ...
Journal Article
The political origins of Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act
At the height of the financial crisis of 2007-09, the Federal Reserve conducted emergency lending under authority granted to it in the third paragraph of Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act. This article explores the political and legislative origins of the section, focusing on why Congress chose to endow the central bank with such an authority. The author describes how in the initial passage of the act in 1913, Congress demonstrated its steadfast commitment to the ?real bills? doctrine in two interrelated ways: 1) by limiting what assets the Fed could purchase, discount, and use as ...
Unleashing Hamilton’s Financial Revolution
The federal government’s assumption of Revolutionary War debt was part of what historians now describe as Hamilton’s financial revolution.
Discussion Paper
The First Global Credit Crisis
June 2022 marks the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1772-3 credit crisis. Although not widely known today, this was arguably the first “modern” global financial crisis in terms of the role that private-sector credit and financial products played in it, in the paths of financial contagion that propagated the initial shock, and in the way authorities intervened to stabilize markets. In this post, we describe these developments and note the parallels with modern financial crises.
Newsletter
Marginal Product of Labor and U.S. Westward Expansion
History and economic concepts explain the westward migration of the U.S. population in the early nineteenth century.
Journal Article
Economic History: The Rise and Fall of Company Towns
The rise and fall of Gary — and that of company towns across the country — mirrors the arc of the nation's economy. From the textile mills of the early 1800s to the coal mines of the 20th century to the manufacturing hubs that defined America's industrial prowess, the story of the United States can be told through the company town. It is a tale of abundance and abandonment, boom and bust, plenty and poverty.
Journal Article
Understanding the Speed and Size of Bank Runs in Historical Comparison
Bank runs have always been fast, but today’s runs are even faster.
Journal Article
When Banking Was 'Free'
From 1837 until the Civil War, currency issuance and banking were left to the states. Can this era offer lessons for today's cryptocurrency boom?
Journal Article
A Short History of Long-Term Mortgages
Americans take today's selection of mortgages for granted, but financing a home is a much different experience than it was a century ago.