This clearly-written book provides an historical analysis of postwar economic development in the US, helping the reader to understand the nation's current economic position. Samuel Rosenberg investigates three postwar phases: the creation of an institutional framework setting the stage for prosperity in the US after World War II, the forces undermining this institutional framework and the resulting stagflation of the 1970s, and the recreation of a new institutional structure in the 1980s. Basic economic concepts are introduced and explained throughout and specific attention is paid to macroeconomic policy, industrial relations, the role of the US in the world economy, social and labor policy, the structure of the labor force, and the distribution of income by race and gender.

Two prominent economists examine the decline of U.S. industry, covering the post-World War period to the Reagan era. "A convenient summary of a vast amount of research.... packed with facts and figures."--The Village Voice¶"Bellon and Niosi provide a better-argued, academic analysis."--Libertarian Labour Review

The history of unemployment and concepts surrounding it remain a mystery to many Americans. Frank Stricker believes we need to understand this essential thread in our shared past. American Unemployment is an introduction for everyone that takes aim at misinformation, willful deceptions, and popular myths to set the record straight: Workers do not normally choose to be unemployed. In our current system, persistent unemployment is not an aberration. It is much more common than full employment, and the outcome of elite policy choices. Labor surpluses propped up by flawed unemployment numbers have helped to keep real wages stagnant for more than forty years. Prior to the New Deal and the era of big government, laissez-faire policies repeatedly led to depressions with heavy, even catastrophic, job losses. Undercounting the unemployed sabotages the creation of government job programs that can lead to more high-paying jobs and full employment. Written for non-economists, American Unemployment is a history and primer on vital economic topics that also provides a roadmap to better jobs and economic security.

Distinguishing four sources of power – ideological, economic, military and political – this series traces their interrelations throughout human history. This fourth volume covers the period from 1945 to the present, focusing on the three major pillars of post-war global order: capitalism, the nation-state system and the sole remaining empire of the world, the United States. In the course of this period, capitalism, nation-states and empires interacted with one another and were transformed. Mann's key argument is that globalization is not just a single process, because there are globalizations of all four sources of social power, each of which has a different rhythm of development. Topics include the rise and beginnings of decline of the American Empire, the fall or transformation of communism (respectively, the Soviet Union and China), the shift from neo-Keynesianism to neoliberalism, and the three great crises emerging in this period – nuclear weapons, the great recession and climate change.

Provides students and scholars with a valuable reference source in the field of American Politics. The Companion will equip readers with a deep understanding of the complex interaction between governmental institutions and processes and the wider American economy and society that they govern.

Slowing down global warming is one of the most critical problems facing the world’s policymakers today. One favored solution is to regulate carbon consumption through taxation, including the taxation of gasoline. Yet gasoline tax levels are much lower in the United States than elsewhere. Why is this so, and what does it tell us about the prospects for taxing carbon here? A Comparative History of Motor Fuels Taxation, 1909–2009: Why Gasoline Is Cheap and Petrol Is Dear examines these questions by tracing the evolution of gasoline tax policies in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand since the early twentieth century. In the process, it highlights the crucial role played by fiscal crises.