John Joseph Wallis
Biographic Data
| ID | 1070508 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Joseph Wallis |
| GIVEN NAMES | John Joseph |
| FAMILY NAME | Wallis |
| SIGNATURE | WALLIS J J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 183 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Growing, Shrinking, and Long-Run Economic Performance: Historical Perspectives on Economic Development
Although long-run economic performance has improved primarily through a decline in the rate and frequency of shrinking rather than through an increase in the rate of growing, most analysis of economic development has focused on increasing the rate of growing. We examine the forces making for a reduction in the rate of shrinking. The main proximate factors considered are (1) structural change, (2) technological change, (3) demographic change, and …
An Alternative Institutional Approach to Rules, Organizations, and Development
In the middle of the nineteenth century, a handful of societies began creating and enforcing impersonal rules, rules that treat everyone the same, on a broad scale. The existing institutional literatures, while appreciating the importance of impersonal rules for the rule of law, have not understood how they contribute to economic and political development through rules that are enforced but not followed: default rules. The conceptual importance o…
The New Economic History and Beyond: The Scholarship of Douglass C. North
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Did the New Deal solidify the 1932 Democratic realignment
In the Shadow of Violence: Politics, Economics, and the Problems of Development
What Was New About the New Deal?
During the presidential election of 1932 Franklin Roosevelt promised a New Deal for the American people.Our goal is to describe the changes wrought by the New Deal.To what extent did the New Deal expand existing programs?What new programs were created at all levels of government?How did the Federal government take over programs that had previously been the responsibility of state and local governments?We then survey the recent research that exami…
Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History
All societies must deal with the possibility of violence, and they do so in different ways. This book integrates the problem of violence into a larger social science and historical framework, showing how economic and political behavior are closely linked. Most societies, which we call natural states, limit violence by political manipulation of the economy to create privileged interests. These privileges limit the use of violence by powerful indiv…
Violence and the Rise of Open-Access Orders
The problem of controlling the use of force and those who are best at wielding it is foundational to human collective life. For most of history, a social order that was relatively “closed” has seemed the most natural way to manage this problem. But over the past century or two, a transition from closed- to open-access orders has led to the emergence of societies with widespread political participation, the use of elections to select governments, …
Limited Access Orders In The Developing World: A New Approach To The Problems Of Development
The upper-income, advanced industrial countries of the world today all have market economies with open competition, competitive multi-party democratic political systems, and a secure government monopoly over violence. Such open access orders, however, are not the only norm and equilibrium type of society. The middle and low-income developing countries today, like all countries before about 1800, can be understood as limited access orders that mai…
A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History
Neither economics nor political science can explain the process of modern social development. The fact that developed societies always have developed economies and developed polities suggests that the connection between economics and politics must be a fundamental part of the development process. This paper develops an integrated theory of economics and politics. We show how, beginning 10,000 years ago, limited access social orders developed that…
Constitutions, Corporations, and Corruption: American States and Constitutional Change, 1842 to 1852
Between 1842 and 1852, eleven states adopted new constitutions, simultaneously creating procedures for issuing government debt and for chartering corporations through general incorporation acts. Why simultaneously? Voters wanted geographically specific infrastructure investments but opposed geographically widespread taxation. States resolved the dilemma by developing several innovative public finance schemes. One, “taxless finance,” used borrowed…
The market for American state government bonds in Britain and the United States, 1830-431
In the 1830s the British and American economies were hit by a series of shared macroeconomic shocks. This paper investigates the role of markets for America's State bonds in Britain and the USA during and between the crises in 1837, 1839, and 1842.There is strong evidence that the crises in 1839 and 1842 originated in the USA and spread to Britain. There is also strong evidence that credit markets for American state bonds were tighter in the USA …
Can the New Deal’s three Rs be rehabilitated? A program-by-program, county-by-county analysis
The property tax as a coordinating device: Financing Indiana’s Mammoth Internal Improvement System, 1835–1842
American Government Finance in the Long Run: 1790 To 1990
Government in America has gone through three distinct fiscal systems in the last two hundred years. Each system utilized a dominant revenue source, and had a distinctly active level of government. The changing structure of government by level seems to be related to changing revenue structures. When new taxes become important, the relative importance of each level of government changes. On the other hand, growth in the overall size of government i…
The Political Economy of New Deal Spending Revisited, Again: With and without Nevada
Railroads and Property Taxes
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War
This benchmark volume addresses the debate over the effects of early industrialization on standards of living during the decades before the Civil War. Its contributors demonstrate that the aggregate antebellum economy was growing faster than any other large economy had grown before. Despite the dramatic economic growth and rise in income levels, questions remain as to the general quality of life during this era. Was the improvement in income wide…
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living Before the Civil War
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War
Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel
Journal Article Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel. Ed. by Claudia Goldin and Hugh Rockoff. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. X + 491 pp. $60.00, ISBN 0-226-30112-5.) Get access John Joseph Wallis John Joseph Wallis University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 8…
Employment in the Great Depression: New data and hypotheses
Does Economic Sclerosis Set in with Age? An Empirical Study of the Olson Hypothesis
M ANCUR O LSON has suggested that the rate of economic growth declines as stable polities grow older, a proposition he tested using data from the United States in the 1960s. We reexamine O LSON'S hypothesis, using a large panel data set covering the twentieth century in the U.S. We find, first, that younger states typically had relatively large governments, rather than the smaller governments one might suspect if O LSON were correct. Second, we f…
Should Transaction Costs be Subtracted from Gross National Product
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Employment, Politics, and Economic Recovery during the Great Depression
In earlier studies, economic historians found that political goals, rather than social or humanitarian objectives, motivated much of New Deal spending. Using new information on annual, state level employment for the 1930s, this paper shows that, while politics are still important, responding to the needs of the unemployed was an important determinant of New Deal spending
The Political Economy of New Deal Spending Revisited, Again: With and without Nevada
The Birth of the Old Federalism: Financing the New Deal, 1932–1940
The relative importance of federal and local government was reversed between 1932 and 1940. This changing composition of government expenditures by level of government accounts for the rise of “big” government during the Depression. State governments expanded their fiscal activity, maintaining their share of total government expenditures. Utilizing data on federal grants and state and local expenditures, I find that the relative decline of local …
Violence and the Rise of Open-Access Orders
The problem of controlling the use of force and those who are best at wielding it is foundational to human collective life. For most of history, a social order that was relatively “closed” has seemed the most natural way to manage this problem. But over the past century or two, a transition from closed- to open-access orders has led to the emergence of societies with widespread political participation, the use of elections to select governments, …
Employment in the Great Depression: New data and hypotheses
American Government Finance in the Long Run: 1790 To 1990
Government in America has gone through three distinct fiscal systems in the last two hundred years. Each system utilized a dominant revenue source, and had a distinctly active level of government. The changing structure of government by level seems to be related to changing revenue structures. When new taxes become important, the relative importance of each level of government changes. On the other hand, growth in the overall size of government i…
A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History
Neither economics nor political science can explain the process of modern social development. The fact that developed societies always have developed economies and developed polities suggests that the connection between economics and politics must be a fundamental part of the development process. This paper develops an integrated theory of economics and politics. We show how, beginning 10,000 years ago, limited access social orders developed that…
Constitutions, Corporations, and Corruption: American States and Constitutional Change, 1842 to 1852
Between 1842 and 1852, eleven states adopted new constitutions, simultaneously creating procedures for issuing government debt and for chartering corporations through general incorporation acts. Why simultaneously? Voters wanted geographically specific infrastructure investments but opposed geographically widespread taxation. States resolved the dilemma by developing several innovative public finance schemes. One, “taxless finance,” used borrowed…
The property tax as a coordinating device: Financing Indiana’s Mammoth Internal Improvement System, 1835–1842
Public Relief and Private Employment in the Great Depression
The unemployment relief programs introduced by the federal government in the 1930s were the largest single factor in the growth of the federal budget over the decade. We develop a model that enables us to estimate the effects of the relief programs on private employment. Cross-sectional data bearing on the operation of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration rejects the hypothesis that the federal relief programs reduced private employment. I…
Did the New Deal solidify the 1932 Democratic realignment
Railroads and Property Taxes
Growing, Shrinking, and Long-Run Economic Performance: Historical Perspectives on Economic Development
Although long-run economic performance has improved primarily through a decline in the rate and frequency of shrinking rather than through an increase in the rate of growing, most analysis of economic development has focused on increasing the rate of growing. We examine the forces making for a reduction in the rate of shrinking. The main proximate factors considered are (1) structural change, (2) technological change, (3) demographic change, and …
Should Transaction Costs be Subtracted from Gross National Product
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Public Relief and Private Employment in the Great Depression
The unemployment relief programs introduced by the federal government in the 1930s were the largest single factor in the growth of the federal budget over the decade. We develop a model that enables us to estimate the effects of the relief programs on private employment. Cross-sectional data bearing on the operation of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration rejects the hypothesis that the federal relief programs reduced private employment. I…
The Birth of the Old Federalism: Financing the New Deal, 1932–1940
The relative importance of federal and local government was reversed between 1932 and 1940. This changing composition of government expenditures by level of government accounts for the rise of “big” government during the Depression. State governments expanded their fiscal activity, maintaining their share of total government expenditures. Utilizing data on federal grants and state and local expenditures, I find that the relative decline of local …
Employment, Politics, and Economic Recovery during the Great Depression
In earlier studies, economic historians found that political goals, rather than social or humanitarian objectives, motivated much of New Deal spending. Using new information on annual, state level employment for the 1930s, this paper shows that, while politics are still important, responding to the needs of the unemployed was an important determinant of New Deal spending
Does Economic Sclerosis Set in with Age? An Empirical Study of the Olson Hypothesis
M ANCUR O LSON has suggested that the rate of economic growth declines as stable polities grow older, a proposition he tested using data from the United States in the 1960s. We reexamine O LSON'S hypothesis, using a large panel data set covering the twentieth century in the U.S. We find, first, that younger states typically had relatively large governments, rather than the smaller governments one might suspect if O LSON were correct. Second, we f…
Should Transaction Costs be Subtracted from Gross National Product
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Employment in the Great Depression: New data and hypotheses
Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel
Journal Article Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel. Ed. by Claudia Goldin and Hugh Rockoff. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. X + 491 pp. $60.00, ISBN 0-226-30112-5.) Get access John Joseph Wallis John Joseph Wallis University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 8…
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living Before the Civil War
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War
American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War
This benchmark volume addresses the debate over the effects of early industrialization on standards of living during the decades before the Civil War. Its contributors demonstrate that the aggregate antebellum economy was growing faster than any other large economy had grown before. Despite the dramatic economic growth and rise in income levels, questions remain as to the general quality of life during this era. Was the improvement in income wide…
Railroads and Property Taxes
The Political Economy of New Deal Spending Revisited, Again: With and without Nevada
American Government Finance in the Long Run: 1790 To 1990
Government in America has gone through three distinct fiscal systems in the last two hundred years. Each system utilized a dominant revenue source, and had a distinctly active level of government. The changing structure of government by level seems to be related to changing revenue structures. When new taxes become important, the relative importance of each level of government changes. On the other hand, growth in the overall size of government i…
Can the New Deal’s three Rs be rehabilitated? A program-by-program, county-by-county analysis
The property tax as a coordinating device: Financing Indiana’s Mammoth Internal Improvement System, 1835–1842
Constitutions, Corporations, and Corruption: American States and Constitutional Change, 1842 to 1852
Between 1842 and 1852, eleven states adopted new constitutions, simultaneously creating procedures for issuing government debt and for chartering corporations through general incorporation acts. Why simultaneously? Voters wanted geographically specific infrastructure investments but opposed geographically widespread taxation. States resolved the dilemma by developing several innovative public finance schemes. One, “taxless finance,” used borrowed…
The market for American state government bonds in Britain and the United States, 1830-431
In the 1830s the British and American economies were hit by a series of shared macroeconomic shocks. This paper investigates the role of markets for America's State bonds in Britain and the USA during and between the crises in 1837, 1839, and 1842.There is strong evidence that the crises in 1839 and 1842 originated in the USA and spread to Britain. There is also strong evidence that credit markets for American state bonds were tighter in the USA …
A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History
Neither economics nor political science can explain the process of modern social development. The fact that developed societies always have developed economies and developed polities suggests that the connection between economics and politics must be a fundamental part of the development process. This paper develops an integrated theory of economics and politics. We show how, beginning 10,000 years ago, limited access social orders developed that…
Limited Access Orders In The Developing World: A New Approach To The Problems Of Development
The upper-income, advanced industrial countries of the world today all have market economies with open competition, competitive multi-party democratic political systems, and a secure government monopoly over violence. Such open access orders, however, are not the only norm and equilibrium type of society. The middle and low-income developing countries today, like all countries before about 1800, can be understood as limited access orders that mai…
Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History
All societies must deal with the possibility of violence, and they do so in different ways. This book integrates the problem of violence into a larger social science and historical framework, showing how economic and political behavior are closely linked. Most societies, which we call natural states, limit violence by political manipulation of the economy to create privileged interests. These privileges limit the use of violence by powerful indiv…
Violence and the Rise of Open-Access Orders
The problem of controlling the use of force and those who are best at wielding it is foundational to human collective life. For most of history, a social order that was relatively “closed” has seemed the most natural way to manage this problem. But over the past century or two, a transition from closed- to open-access orders has led to the emergence of societies with widespread political participation, the use of elections to select governments, …
In the Shadow of Violence: Politics, Economics, and the Problems of Development
What Was New About the New Deal?
During the presidential election of 1932 Franklin Roosevelt promised a New Deal for the American people.Our goal is to describe the changes wrought by the New Deal.To what extent did the New Deal expand existing programs?What new programs were created at all levels of government?How did the Federal government take over programs that had previously been the responsibility of state and local governments?We then survey the recent research that exami…
Did the New Deal solidify the 1932 Democratic realignment
The New Economic History and Beyond: The Scholarship of Douglass C. North
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Economics (20 works) · Political science (17 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (10 works) · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Development economics (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Finance (7 works) · Finance (6 works)