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Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History
Despite recent corporate scandals, the United States is among the world’s least corrupt nations. But in the nineteenth century, the degree of fraud and corruption in America approached that of today’s most corrupt developing nations, as municipal governments and robber barons alike found new ways to steal from taxpayers and swindle investors. In Corruption and Reform, contributors explore this shadowy period of United States history in search of better methods to fight corruption worldwide today.
Contributors to this volume address the measurement and consequences of fraud and corruption and the forces that ultimately led to their decline within the United States. They show that various approaches to reducing corruption have met with success, such as deregulation, particularly “free banking,” in the 1830s. In the 1930s, corruption was kept in check when new federal bureaucracies replaced local administrations in doling out relief. Another deterrent to corruption was the independent press, which kept a watchful eye over government and business. These and other facets of American history analyzed in this volume make it indispensable as background for anyone interested in corruption today.
Contributors to this volume address the measurement and consequences of fraud and corruption and the forces that ultimately led to their decline within the United States. They show that various approaches to reducing corruption have met with success, such as deregulation, particularly “free banking,” in the 1830s. In the 1930s, corruption was kept in check when new federal bureaucracies replaced local administrations in doling out relief. Another deterrent to corruption was the independent press, which kept a watchful eye over government and business. These and other facets of American history analyzed in this volume make it indispensable as background for anyone interested in corruption today.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2006
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April 29, 2009
A great collection of essays from a 2004 economics conference which ask why the US changed from one of the putatively most corrupt nations on earth to one of the most transparent. The motivating though oft unspoken question here is whether corrupt third world nations today can do the same and enjoy the same kind of success and growth.
Rebecca Menes's article on "Graft and Growth" actually shows that the US was not quite as corrupt as some claimed. Although there were certainly patronage issues and omnipresent featherbedding, democratic accountability insured that roads were actually built, canals dug, and taxes collected. Rapacious regimes like Tweed's were the exception. Engermann and Sokoloff's article shows that cost overruns on public projects are significantly higher today than way back when. Other articles point to the federalization of inspection laws and relief systems as a means of obviating corruption.
There are a few problems with the book. While some of the economic models are elegant mathematically, they could use more history to buttress their assumptions. The authors also seem to take insufficient time considering contemporary historical work on their issues and in consequence recover old territory. Still, it is encouraging to see economists turn to American history to solve contemporary problems, and the empirical rigor they bring to these questions should be more widely used in the historical field.
Rebecca Menes's article on "Graft and Growth" actually shows that the US was not quite as corrupt as some claimed. Although there were certainly patronage issues and omnipresent featherbedding, democratic accountability insured that roads were actually built, canals dug, and taxes collected. Rapacious regimes like Tweed's were the exception. Engermann and Sokoloff's article shows that cost overruns on public projects are significantly higher today than way back when. Other articles point to the federalization of inspection laws and relief systems as a means of obviating corruption.
There are a few problems with the book. While some of the economic models are elegant mathematically, they could use more history to buttress their assumptions. The authors also seem to take insufficient time considering contemporary historical work on their issues and in consequence recover old territory. Still, it is encouraging to see economists turn to American history to solve contemporary problems, and the empirical rigor they bring to these questions should be more widely used in the historical field.
Displaying 1 of 1 review