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Economics and the Public Welfare: A Financial and Economic History of the United States, 1914-1946
In the turbulent years between passage of the Federal Reserve Act (1913) and the Bretton Woods Agreement (1945), the peoples of the Western world suffered two world wars, two major and several minor international financial panics, an epidemic of currency devaluations and debt repudiations, civil wars, and revolutions. No period in history could serve better as a case study for the analysis of applied economic policy. No one could have been better situated to write that study than Benjamin M. Anderson. From his vantage point as economist for the Chase Manhattan Bank and editor of the Chase Economic Bulletin, who participated in much of what he records, Dr. Anderson here describes the climactic events of a turbulent era. Benjamin M. Anderson (1886–1949) was a scholar, historian, banker, financier, and economist. After receiving his Ph.D. in economics, philosophy, and sociology from Columbia University in 1911, he taught economics at Harvard University. In 1918, he entered banking as Economic Advisor to the National Bank of Commerce in New York, and later became an economist for the Chase Manhattan Bank and editor of the Chase Economic Bulletin. He also served as President of the Economists’ National Committee on Monetary Policy. Arthur Kemp was Professor Emeritus of Economics at Claremont McKenna College.
595 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
About the author
Benjamin McAlester Anderson Jr.
21 books9 followersBenjamin McAlester Anderson, Jr. (May 1, 1886 – January 19, 1949) was an American economist of the Austrian School.
Benjamin Anderson was born in Columbia, Missouri to Benjamin McLean Anderson, a businessman and a politician. When he was sixteen years old, Anderson enrolled in classes at the University of Missouri in his hometown and earned his A.B. in 1906. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Anderson accepted an appointment as professor of political economy and sociology at Missouri Valley College, where he remained for a year before becoming head of the department of political economy and sociology at the State Normal School (later known as Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri.
Anderson soon became a degree-seeking student again, this time pursuing his A.M. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed his master's degree in 1910 and finished his Ph.D. at Columbia University only a year later. Part of his dissertation was later published as Social Value: A Study in Economic Theory, Critical and Constructive.
After earning his doctoral degree, Anderson taught at Columbia University and then Harvard University.[2] During this time, he penned his Value of Money, a critique of the quantity theory of money.[3] He left Harvard to join New York City's National Bank of Commerce in 1918.
He remained with NBC for only two years, however, before Chase National Bank hired him as an economist and as the new editor of the bank's Chase Economic Bulletin. It was during this time that the scope of Anderson's writing widened to include
"...articles critical of progressive policy in such diverse areas as money, credit, international economic policy, agriculture, taxation, war, government debt, and economic planning. He was a leading opponent of the New Deal and an enthusiastic supporter of a free market gold standard."
In 1939, Anderson again entered the academic community, this time as a professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He held this position until his death (from a heart attack) in 1949.
Benjamin Anderson was born in Columbia, Missouri to Benjamin McLean Anderson, a businessman and a politician. When he was sixteen years old, Anderson enrolled in classes at the University of Missouri in his hometown and earned his A.B. in 1906. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Anderson accepted an appointment as professor of political economy and sociology at Missouri Valley College, where he remained for a year before becoming head of the department of political economy and sociology at the State Normal School (later known as Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri.
Anderson soon became a degree-seeking student again, this time pursuing his A.M. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed his master's degree in 1910 and finished his Ph.D. at Columbia University only a year later. Part of his dissertation was later published as Social Value: A Study in Economic Theory, Critical and Constructive.
After earning his doctoral degree, Anderson taught at Columbia University and then Harvard University.[2] During this time, he penned his Value of Money, a critique of the quantity theory of money.[3] He left Harvard to join New York City's National Bank of Commerce in 1918.
He remained with NBC for only two years, however, before Chase National Bank hired him as an economist and as the new editor of the bank's Chase Economic Bulletin. It was during this time that the scope of Anderson's writing widened to include
"...articles critical of progressive policy in such diverse areas as money, credit, international economic policy, agriculture, taxation, war, government debt, and economic planning. He was a leading opponent of the New Deal and an enthusiastic supporter of a free market gold standard."
In 1939, Anderson again entered the academic community, this time as a professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. He held this position until his death (from a heart attack) in 1949.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 16, 2008
I'm only on chapter 7, but have found the Chase Banker's explanations of banks and credit illuminating.
November 23, 2019
Anderson worked for Chase Bank, and had a front seat while various financial events were unfolding. A one-time Roosevelt supporter, he was quickly disillusioned where FDR abandoned most of his campaign promises and started his radical experiments and undermining of the constitution.
As a practicing economist, Anderson does not have a "model" to push. This makes the book a bit more empiricist in approach than I would have liked, but better this than the other extreme of reality-detached abstraction. I consider this an essential book for anyone studying the Great Depression. This is not a light-weight book either, so skip it if all you want is an overview of causes.
As a practicing economist, Anderson does not have a "model" to push. This makes the book a bit more empiricist in approach than I would have liked, but better this than the other extreme of reality-detached abstraction. I consider this an essential book for anyone studying the Great Depression. This is not a light-weight book either, so skip it if all you want is an overview of causes.
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November 22, 2014must read for anyone interested in economics and history
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews