Disruption in Detroit
Autoworkers and the Elusive Postwar Boom
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4156811 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Oestreicher (Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 808-809 |
| Publication date | 2019-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8723 • E-ISSN: 1945-2314 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jahist/jaz625 |
| OpenAlex | W2993245376 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
Academic studies and popular culture depict the 1940–1973 U.S. economic boom as a golden age. Economic historians note that U.S. per capita real gross national product (Gnp) tripled between 1938 and 1973, one of the greatest economic growth spurts in American history. Moreover, the great boom period was nearly historically unique in decreasing economic inequality. The rich became richer, but more slowly than the rest of the population. The share of national income going to the top 1 percent fell by more than half. Every income decile saw significant income increases with rates of income growth for the lowest deciles exceeding growth for the more well-to-do. The real take-home pay of factory workers doubled between World War II and the late 1960s. In contrast, while real per capita Gnp more than doubled between 1973 and 2018, more than two-thirds of the population saw little or no increase in living standards. The 1 percent regained their pre–New Deal income share (close to one-fourth). Popular culture draws a sharp contrast between the warm glow of the boom and the years since. Bruce Springsteen's song “Glory Days” (1984) describes aging working-class baby boomers' nostalgia for the easier times of their youth, a sentiment implicit in Donald J. Trump's Make America Great Again slogan
Boom · Cartography · Decile · Demographic economics · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic history · Economic inequality · Economics · Fell · Geography · Glory · Gross domestic product · Inequality · Market economy · Measures of national income and output · Per capita · Per capita income · Population · Prosperity · Sociology · Demography · Engineering · History · Political and Economic history of UK and US
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |