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Economic Regulation

Occupational Licensing

By S. David Young

Most Americans know that practicing medicine without a license is against the law. They also know that lawyers and dentists must have the state's approval before they can ply their trades. Few Americans, however, would guess that in some states falconers, ferret breeders, and palm readers are also subject to government...

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Biographies

Oliver Williamson

1932-2020

In 2009, Oliver E. Williamson, along with elinor ostrom, was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. Williamson received it “for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm.” He did this by bringing together economics, organization theory, and contract law. According to the Nobel commit...

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Corporations and Financial Markets

Bubbles

By Seiji S. C. Steimetz

What Are Bubbles? In 1996, the fledgling Internet portal Yahoo.com made its stock-market debut. This was during a time of great excitement—as well as uncertainty—about the prosperous “new economy” that the rapidly expanding Internet promised. By the beginning of the year 2000, Yahoo shares were trading at ...

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Basic Concepts

Population

By Ronald Demos Lee

The world’s population increased by 50 percent between 1900 and 1950 and by 140 percent between 1950 and 2000, and is projected by the United Nations to increase by just under 50 percent between 2000 and 2050. Of the 3.44 billion increase in the number of people between 1950 and 2000, only 8 percent was in developed ...

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Labor

Wages and Working Conditions

By Stanley Lebergott

CEOs of multinational corporations, exotic dancers, and children with lemonade stands have at least one thing in common. They all expect a return for their effort. Most workers get that return in a subtle and ever-changing combination of money wages and working conditions. This article describes how they changed for th...

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Basic Concepts

Competitiveness

By Robert Z. Lawrence

"Competitiveness," particularly with reference to an entire economy, is hard to define. Indeed, competitiveness, like love or democracy, actually has several meanings. And the question "Is America competitive?" has at least three interpretations: How well is the United States performing compared to other countries? How...

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Biographies

François Quesnay

1694-1774

  François Quesnay was the leading figure of the Physiocrats, generally considered to be the first school of economic thinking. The name “Physiocrat” derives from the Greek words phýsis, meaning “nature,” and kràtos, meaning “power.” The Physiocrats believed that an economy’s power de...

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