Public Choice Analyses of American Economic History (eBook)

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. Professor of Economics at Beloit College and an Economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Hall is a past President of the Association of Private Enterprise Education. In addition to being a co-author on the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World annual report, he is author of over 100 academic journal articles.Marcus M. Witcher is a postdoctoral professor of history at West Virginia University. He earned his bachelor degree in history with a minor in economics from the University of Central Arkansas. He then received his masters and PhD in history from the University of Alabama. Marcus is currently revising his book manuscript Getting Right with Reagan: Conservatives and the Fortieth President, 1980-2016. He has published four peer-reviewed articles, six book reviews, and has presented his work at over ten academic conferences

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 7
Contributors 9
1 Club Women and the Provision of Local Public Goods 10
1.1 Introduction 10
1.2 History of Women's Clubs in the 19th and Early 20th Century US 12
1.2.1 Religious Roots and Community Support 13
1.2.2 Provision of Local Public Goods and Club Goods 14
1.2.3 Political and Regulatory Influence 15
1.3 The Theory of Goods that are Neither Public Nor Private 16
1.4 The Organization of Collective Action by Women's Clubs 18
1.4.1 Overcoming the Collective Action Problem 18
1.4.2 Providing Local Public Goods within a Polycentric System 22
1.5 Conclusion 25
References 26
2 Samuel J. Tilden, Iron Money and the Election of 1876 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 A Protégé of Van Buren 29
2.3 Iron Money 30
2.4 Panic of 1873 32
2.5 Iron Money During the Election of 1876 33
2.6 The Money Issue During the Election of 1876 35
References 36
3 The Impact of Decentralization on Municipalities: Evidence from the Municipal Home Rule Movement 38
3.1 Introduction 38
3.2 The Evolving State-Municipal Relationship 40
3.2.1 Categorizing Constitutions: Dillon's Rule Versus the Cooley Doctrine 40
3.2.2 Home Rule 42
3.3 The Impact of Government Structure on Outcomes 45
3.4 Empirical Strategy 47
3.5 Data 48
3.6 Analysis 50
3.7 Conclusion 55
References 56
4 Organized Opposition: The Anti-Federalist Political Network 57
4.1 Introduction 57
4.2 The Contours of the Debate 60
4.3 The Role of Newspapers 63
4.4 Examining the Spread of Federalist and Anti-Federalist Literature 66
4.5 Comparing the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Newspaper Networks 68
4.6 Conclusion 75
References 76
5 Bootleggers and Baptists in the Passage of Federal Surface Mining Law 78
5.1 Introduction 78
5.2 The Economics of Regulation 78
5.3 History of Surface Mining Regulations 80
5.4 Coal Context 82
5.5 Coal Ownership Patterns 83
5.6 Topographical Differences 84
5.7 The Baptists and Bootleggers of SMCRA 84
5.8 Conclusion 86
References 87
6 Pro-consumer Legislation Supported by Elites: The Curious Case of the 1866 Post Roads Act 88
6.1 Introduction 88
6.2 Western Union as a Concentrated Interest 91
6.2.1 Government Favors Received by Western Union 92
6.3 1866 Post Roads Act as Pro-Consumer Legislation 94
6.3.1 Telegraph Market Contestability After 1866 95
6.4 Concentrated Interests Benefited from 1866 Post Roads Act 96
6.4.1 Non-New York Associated Press Newspapers Benefited from 1866 Post Roads Act 97
6.4.2 Ohio Republicans who Benefited from the 1866 Post Roads Act 98
6.4.3 Businessmen who Benefited from the 1866 Post Roads Act 99
6.5 Elite's Connections to Politicians who voted on 1866 Post Roads Act 100
6.5.1 Western Union's Opposition to the 1866 Post Roads Act 100
6.5.2 Senator John Conness of California Vote for the 1866 Post Roads Act 101
6.5.3 Ohio Republicans Support for the 1866 Post Roads Act 102
6.5.4 Ohio House Republicans Vote for the 1866 Post Roads Act 103
6.6 Conclusion 105
References 105
7 Economic History of the Relationship Between Congress and NASA: A Case Study of the Apollo Program 108
7.1 Introduction 108
7.2 History of the Apollo Program 109
7.3 Analysis of Relationship Between Congress and NASA 112
7.3.1 Congressional Dominance Theory 113
7.3.2 Exploratory Analysis 114
7.4 Conclusion 120
References 120
8 An Economic Interpretation of Rhode Island's 1788 Referendum on the Constitution 122
8.1 Introduction 122
8.2 The Origins of this Essay 126
8.3 Charles Beard and the Scholarly Debate 127
8.4 Political and Economic Context of the Rhode Island Referendum 130
8.5 Economic Analysis of the Rhode Island Referendum 135
8.6 Further Opportunities for Analysis of the Referendum 137
References 139
9 A Hard Day's Night: Provision of Public Evening Schools in the United States, 1870–1910 141
9.1 Introduction 141
9.2 A Brief History of Evening Schools 143
9.3 Public Evening School Provision 146
9.4 Evening School Provision and State Legislation 147
9.5 Within-State Variation in Evening School Provision 150
9.6 Determinants of Evening School Provision 150
9.7 Data and Econometric Framework 151
9.8 Results 154
9.9 Endogeneity Concerns and Instrumental Variable Results 157
9.10 Summary 160
References 167
10 Private Seeking of Private Monopoly in Early American Banking 170
10.1 Introduction 170
10.2 Rent Seeking, Briefly Stated 172
10.3 A Brief History of Pennsylvania Bank Chartering 175
10.4 Calculating the Social Costs of Monopoly and Rent Seeking 180
10.4.1 Qualification 1—Permanent Rents and Transitory Profits 184
10.4.2 Qualification 2—Monopoly and Monopsony 185
10.4.3 An Alternative Approach—Bank Charter Values and Tobin's Q 187
10.5 The State as Rent-Redistribution Mechanism 189
10.6 ``This Remarkable Democratic Period'': Popular Challenges to Rent Seeking 193
10.6.1 New York's Antimasonic Transformation 194
10.6.2 Pennsylvania Banking Policy Misses it Antimasonic Moment 198
10.7 Concluding Comments 201
References 206