Governance of the American Economy (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences, Series Number 5)

In this tightly edited volume, a single theoretical framework is developed to explain institutional transformation in the governance of the U.S. economy in the twentieth century, and this framework is applied to case studies of eight American industries in various sectors: telecommunications, nuclear energy, railroads, steel automobiles, dairies, meatpacking, and hospitals. By "governance" the contributors refer to the systems of rules, procedures and norms that define ownership and control the means of production, govern transactions and determine the efficiency with which resources and information are allocated. An important new evolutionary model of the governance transformation process emerges, and a new perspective on the role of the state is developed, which argues that the volume addresses questions about the governance of capitalist economies in general.

Nine scholars examine institutions governing U.S. economic activity to isolate the dramatic changes they have undergone in contending with growing market volatility, technological progress and increasingly tense competition in the 20th century.