The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor, and Economic History

As the global economic crisis that developed in the year 2008 makes clear, it is essential for educated individuals to understand the history that underlies contemporary economic developments. This Encyclopedia offers students and scholars access to information about the concepts, institutions/organizations, events, and individuals that have shaped the history of economics, business, and labor from the origins of what later became the United States in an earlier age of globalization...
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As the global economic crisis that developed in the year 2008 makes clear, it is essential for educated individuals to understand the history that underlies contemporary economic developments. This Encyclopedia offers students and scholars access to information about the concepts, institutions/organizations, events, and individuals that have shaped the history of economics, business, and labor from the origins of what later became the United States in an earlier age of globalization and the expansion of capitalism to the present. It includes entries that explore the changing character of capitalism from the seventeenth century to the present; that cover the evolution of business practices and organizations over the same time period; that describe changes in the labor force as legally free workers replaced a labor force dominated by slaves and indentures; that treat the means by which workers sought to better their lives; and that deal with government policies and practices that affected economic activities, business developments, and the lives of working people.