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American Agriculture in the Twentieth Century: How It Flourished and What It Cost
by Bruce L. GardnerAmerican agriculture in the twentieth century has given the world one of its great success stories, a paradigm of productivity and plenty. Yet the story has its dark side, from the plight of the Okies in the 1930s to the farm crisis of the 1980s to today's concerns about low crop prices and the impact of biotechnology. Looking at U.S. farming over the past century, Bruce Gardner searches out explanations for both the remarkable progress and the persistent social problems that have marked the history of American agriculture. Gardner documents both the economic difficulties that have confronted farmers and the technological and economic transformations that have lifted them from relative poverty to economic parity with the nonfarm population. He provides a detailed analysis of the causes of these trends, with emphasis on the role of government action. He reviews how commodity support programs, driven by interest-group politics, have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to little purpose. Nonetheless, Gardner concludes that by reconciling competing economic interests while fostering productivity growth and economic integration of the farm and nonfarm economies, the overall twentieth-century role of government in American agriculture is fairly viewed as a triumph of democracy.
American Agriculture in theTwentieth Century: How It Flourished and What It Cost
by Bruce L. GardnerAmerican agriculture in the twentieth century has given the world one of its great success stories, a paradigm of productivity and plenty. Yet the story has its dark side, from the plight of the Okies in the 1930s to the farm crisis of the 1980s to today's concerns about low crop prices and the impact of biotechnology. Looking at U. S. farming over the past century, Bruce Gardner searches out explanations for both the remarkable progress and the persistent social problems that have marked the history of American agriculture. Gardner documents both the economic difficulties that have confronted farmers and the technological and economic transformations that have lifted them from relative poverty to economic parity with the nonfarm population. He provides a detailed analysis of the causes of these trends, with emphasis on the role of government action. He reviews how commodity support programs, driven by interest-group politics, have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to little purpose. Nonetheless, Gardner concludes that by reconciling competing economic interests while fostering productivity growth and economic integration of the farm and nonfarm economies, the overall twentieth-century role of government in American agriculture is fairly viewed as a triumph of democracy.
American Agriculture, Water Resources, and Climate Change (National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report)
by Gary D. Libecap and and Ariel DinarA collection of the most advanced and authoritative agricultural-economic research in the face of increasing water scarcity. Agriculture has been critical in the development of the American economy. Except in parts of the western United States, water access has not been a critical constraint on agricultural productivity, but with climate change, this may no longer be the case. This volume highlights new research on the interconnections between American agriculture, water resources, and climate change. It examines climatic and geologic factors that affect the agricultural sector and highlights historical and contemporary farmer responses to varying conditions and water availability. It identifies the potential effects of climate change on water supplies, access, agricultural practices, and profitability, and analyzes technological, agronomic, management, and institutional adjustments. Adaptations such as new crops, production practices, irrigation technologies, water conveyance infrastructure, fertilizer application, and increased use of groundwater can generate both social benefits and social costs, which may be internalized with various institutional innovations. Drawing on both historical and present experiences, this volume provides valuable insights into the economics of water supply in American agriculture as climate change unfolds.
American Airlines in 2011
by Willy ShihThe American Airlines in 2011 case was developed to provide a setting for the comparative analysis of two very different business models in the U.S. domestic airline industry-the network carrier and the low cost carrier (LCC). These models offer very different value propositions. Firms allocate resources into distinctively different processes, and they earn returns using parallel but different profit models. Yet while most scholars view the LCC model as disruptive, the two different models have been able to co-exist for over forty years, albeit with substantial evolution. By unpacking how one of the major network carriers was able to evolve its model successfully for such a long time before industry structural changes necessitated a radical overhaul, the cases seek to give students insights into how the different business models were established, how competitive forces have driven their evolution, and the importance of constantly evolving and tuning a firm's model.
American Airlines, Inc.: Revenue Management
by Adam Brandenburger Anirudh DhebarBegins with a description of the elements of post-deregulation competition in the commercial airline industry. This should facilitate a discussion of the use of quantitative methods to support a broad range of tactical and strategic airline decisions. The principal thrust of the case is on revenue management. First, there is a description of the principal pricing concepts, followed by two examples of pricing decisions facing American. Next, there is a discussion of the basic yield management concepts and comments on the challenges in their implementation. Finally, there is a brief write-up on the structure and future of the revenue management organization.
American Airlines' Value Pricing (A)
by Alvin J. Silk Steven C. MichaelIn April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing structure would benefit consumers and restore profitability to both American and the industry as a whole. The critical issue raised is: Would American's bold initiative work?
The American and British Debate Over Equality, 1776-1920
by James L. HustonHistorians have long contested the degree to which the central tenet of the Declaration of Independence—that all men are created equal—has manifested itself in American society and national policy. According to James L. Huston, many historians have focused too intently on class differences, slavery, and inequalities arising from ethnicity, sexuality, and gender, while overlooking important areas where notions of equality flourished during the century and a half after the Declaration’s signing. In The American and British Debate Over Equality, 1776–1920, Huston examines the egalitarian communities in rural northern America, particularly those enclaves that differed from the openly aristocratic cities and towns of the British Isles. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, British and American writers alike recognized that a growing philosophical rift divided the two nations: whereas Great Britain continued to embrace the inequality of its hierarchical class system, the United States professed allegiance to democratic ideals of equality—limited though these were by racial and gender norms of the day. Huston argues that the two countries engaged in an intellectual debate during the next century and a half over which ideal—equality or inequality—worked best in promoting social stability, political hegemony, and economic success. Exploring the effects of equality and inequality on many aspects of American life, he examines civil behavior, social customs, treatment of others, politics, education, religion, economic opportunity, and general public optimism. Drawing from decades of publications by American and British writers, Huston reveals the rhetorical strategies contemporary observers employed in defending or rejecting the organization of a society around broader notions of human equality. The American and British Debate Over Equality, 1776–1920 informs the modern debate over equality and inequality, not by theorizing and philosophizing, but by offering a glimpse into the practical applications of a functioning egalitarian society as compared to one that extolled monarchy and institutionalized inequality.
The American and Japanese Auto Industries in Transition: Report of the Joint U.S.–Japan Automotive Study
by Robert E. Cole & Taizo YakushijiThis report was prepared for the Policy Board by the U.S. and Japanese research staffs of the Joint U.S.–Japan Automotive Study under the general direction of Professors Paul W. McCracken and Keichi Oshima, with research operations organized and coordinated by Robert E. Cole on the U.S. side, in close communication with the Taizo Yakushiji on the Japanese side. [preface] In view of the importance of stable, long-term economic relationships between Japan and the United States, automotive issues have to be dealt with in ways consistent with the joint prosperity of both countries. Furthermore, the current economic friction has the potential to adversely affect future political relationships. Indeed, under conditions of economic stagnation, major economic issues inevitably become political issues. With these considerations in mind, the Joint U.S.–Japan Automotive Study project was started in September 1981 to determine the conditions that will allow for the prosperous coexistence of the respective automobile industries. During this two-year study, we have identified four driving forces that will play a major role in determining the future course of the automotive industry of both countries. These are: (1) consumers’ demands and aspirations vis-à-vis automobiles; (2) flexible manufacturing systems (FMS); (3) rapidly evolving technology; and (4) the internationalization of the automotive industry. [exec. summary]
The American Automobile Industry: Rebirth or Requiem? (Michigan Papers in Japanese Studies #13)
by Robert E. ColeAmid the gloom, indeed the despair, that prevailed among auto industry spokesmen during early 1981, the University of Michigan held the first U.S.-Japan Auto Conference. With all the uncertainty that accompanies a march into new territory, the conference very much resembled a call to arms as industry, union, and government officials sought to comprehend and respond to the Japanese challenge. In the subsequent two conferences in 1982 and 1983, the concerned parties displayed an impressive willingness to roll up their sleeves and get on with creating the conditions for a renewal of the industry. Yet success seemed to elude their efforts, and frustrations mounted as the national recession lengthened and deepened. It was not until the March 1984 conference that definite change in tone became apparent. By this time, it was clear that the industry was beginning to reap the fruits of its efforts. As Paul McCracken notes in his remarks, the market for new cars was manifesting its traditional high-geared response to improved business conditions, and the voluntary trade restraints were contributing to the ability of the industry to take advantage of this renewed prosperity. In addition, those who know the industry well knew that the major improvements in quality and productivity had been made, and many of the changes responsible for these improvements seem unlikely to be reversed. All this was much on the minds of speakers and participants during the March conference. The various speakers presented an image of people who thought that they were pretty much on the way toward addressing successfully their internal problems of productivity, quality, and marketing. All that remained was to dispose of the external factors that prevented the, from competing on that well-known if elusive "level playing field." [ix]
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates, Fourth Edition
by American Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association Guide to Wills & Estates, Fourth Edition, is the user-friendly guide that contains everything you need to know about planning an estate and preparing a will. It is organized in easy-to-follow chapters with sidebars containing tips, checklists, and key information, encouraging you to begin the process quickly and easily.The ABA Guide to Wills & Estates will help you:* Determine what to put in an estate plan* Decide whether to prepare a will, trust, or living trust* Avoid or reduce estate taxes* Transfer property without a will with substitutes such as life insurance and joint tenancy* Understand the benefits of living gifts and life insurance, among many other topics The Fourth edition features new and updated topics, such as: * Life-threatening and chronic illnesses* Incorporating your religious beliefs into your estate plan * Assisted reproduction and its resulting estate planning implications* Civil unions and same-sex marriages* Elder abuse and care* Information about Roth IRAs in estate plans* The impact of digital assets on estate planning
The American Bar Association Guide to Workplace Law (2nd edition)
by Barbara J. FickProvides helpful insight and information for employers and employees alike.- Topics include hiring, firing, retirement, sexual harassment, maternity leave, workplace safety, and more--all explained in clear, non-technical language.
American Barrick Resources Corp.: Managing Gold Price Risk
by Peter Tufano Jon D. SerbinManaging the risk of changing prices of gold is central to the business strategy of American Barrick Resources Corp., one of North America's largest and most successful gold-mining firms. The case contrasts this firm's hedging policies with those of its rivals that do not hedge and details the wide range of hedging products (gold loans, forwards, options, spot deferred contracts) used to manage price risk. In 1992 the management of American Barrick is pleasantly surprised by unexpected new gold finds, but this new production places demands on the firm's hedging program and tests the firm's commitment to hedging when prices of gold and of many hedging vehicles are unattractive.
American Big Business in Britain and Germany: A Comparative History of Two "Special Relationships" in the 20th Century
by Volker R. BerghahnWhile America's relationship with Britain has often been deemed unique, especially during the two world wars when Germany was a common enemy, the American business sector actually had a greater affinity with Germany for most of the twentieth century. American Big Business in Britain and Germany examines the triangular relationship between the American, British, and German business communities and how the special relationship that Britain believed it had with the United States was supplanted by one between America and Germany.Volker Berghahn begins with the pre-1914 period and moves through the 1920s, when American investments supported German reconstruction rather than British industry. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to a reversal in German-American relations, forcing American corporations to consider cutting their losses or collaborating with a regime that was inexorably moving toward war. Although Britain hoped that the wartime economic alliance with the United States would continue after World War II, the American business community reconnected with West Germany to rebuild Europe’s economy. And while Britain thought they had established their special relationship with America once again in the 1980s and 90s, in actuality it was the Germans who, with American help, had acquired an informal economic empire on the European continent.American Big Business in Britain and Germany uncovers the surprising and differing relationships of the American business community with two major European trading partners from 1900 through the twentieth century.
American Bonds: How Credit Markets Shaped a Nation (Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives #164)
by Sarah L. QuinnHow the American government has long used financial credit programs to create economic opportunitiesFederal housing finance policy and mortgage-backed securities have gained widespread attention in recent years because of the 2008 financial crisis, but issues of government credit have been part of American life since the nation’s founding. From the 1780s, when a watershed national land credit policy was established, to the postwar foundations of our current housing finance system, American Bonds examines the evolution of securitization and federal credit programs. Sarah Quinn shows that since the Westward expansion, the U.S. government has used financial markets to manage America’s complex social divides, and politicians and officials across the political spectrum have turned to land sales, home ownership, and credit to provide economic opportunity without the appearance of market intervention or direct wealth redistribution.Highly technical systems, securitization, and credit programs have been fundamental to how Americans determined what they could and should owe one another. Over time, government officials embraced credit as a political tool that allowed them to navigate an increasingly complex and fractured political system, affirming the government’s role as a consequential and creative market participant. Neither intermittent nor marginal, credit programs supported the growth of powerful industries, from railroads and farms to housing and finance; have been used for disaster relief, foreign policy, and military efforts; and were promoters of amortized mortgages, lending abroad, venture capital investment, and mortgage securitization.Illuminating America’s market-heavy social policies, American Bonds illustrates how political institutions became involved in the nation’s lending practices.
The American Bourgeoisie: Distinction and Identity in the Nineteenth Century
by Sven Beckert Julia B. RosenbaumThis volume engages a fundamental disciplinary question about this period in American history: how did the bourgeoisie consolidate their power and fashion themselves not simply as economic leaders but as cultural innovators and arbiters? It also explains how culture helped Americans form both a sense of shared identity and a sense of difference.
American Bureaucracy
by Warren G BennisLike it or not, contemporary man is man-in-bureaucracy. He spends the majority of his waking hours in a bureaucracy; establishes an identity and status in a bureaucracy; garners most of his satisfactions and disappointments in a bureaucracy; and, increasingly, he is what he does.Aside from the importance of understanding those institutions that shape our values, behavior, and experience, bureaucracy is a vital area for study because it reveals a wide range of social behavior in a compact and comprehensible way. The abstract and ephemeral problems of society at large are brought down to earth —made measurable, comprehensible and visible in the bureaucratic microcosm. Problems of power and influence, change and innovation, intergroup conflict, ambition and aspiration, self-realization versus participative democracy, technology versus humanism: all can be observed and analyzed in human organizations.This volume pinpoints the dilemma of present bureaucratic organizations: the conflict between the need to sustain innovation and bureaucratic drives toward rationality and stability. The essays it contains discuss specific human needs that bureaucracy must meet if it is to continue to attract talented people and takes a step into the future to analyze the kinds of organizations that may be expected to evolve as institutions seek more flexible use of human resources.
American Business and Foreign Policy: Cases in Coffee and Cocoa Trade Regulation 1961-1974 (Routledge Library Editions: International Trade Policy #1)
by Joseph ShortDeveloping countries have for many decades waged a campaign for the global regulation of trade in primary products through international commodity agreements. Heavily dependent upon exports of primary products, developing countries hope to regulate the markets for their commodities to achieve higher prices. While there is a myriad of obstacles to agreements, the blame for slow progress is often laid at the feet of the industrial, commodity-consuming countries, particularly the US. This book, first published in 1987, is a comparative case study that closely analyses how American businesses behaved in relation to US government responses to developing countries’ demands for commodity agreements for coffee and cocoa.
American Business and Public Policy: The politics of foreign trade
by Theodore DraperAmerican Business and Public Policy is a study of the politics of foreign trade. It challenges fifty years of writ-ing on pressure politics. It includes nine hundred interviews with heads of corporations, including 166 of the 200 largest corporations; another 500 interviews with congressmen, lob-byists, journalists, and opinion leaders; and eight community studies making this book the most intensive survey in print of the politics of business. It is a realistic behavioral examination of a major type of economic decision.The authors introduce their study with a history of the tariff as a political issue in American politics and a history of American tariff legislation in the years from Europe's trade recovery under the Marshall Plan to the challenge of the Common Market. They examine in succession the changing attitudes of the general public and the political actions of the business community, the lobbies, and Congress.American Business and Public Policy is a contribution to social theory in several of its branches. It is a contribution to understanding the business community, to the social psychol-ogy of communication and attitude change, to the study of political behavior in foreign policy.American Business and Public Policy is at once a study of a classic issue in American politics the tariff; decision-making, particularly the relation of economic to social-psycho-logical theories of behavior; business communication what businessmen read about world affairs, what effect foreign travel has on them, where they turn for political advice, and how they seek political help; pressure politics, lobbying, and the Congressional process.
American Business Cycles 1945-50
by Conrad BlythAfter the end of the Second World War businessmen and economists throughout the world feared that the American postwar inflationary boom would end in a serious slump. The slump took a long time to come, and when it did appear in 1949 it was both mild and short lived. In its mildness and brevity it foreshadowed the American business recessions since that time and, indeed, may foreshadow the end of the business cycle as it has been known in the past. This book presents the first full-scale study of the 1948–49 recession in the United States, making it the focal point of a detailed, analytical account of American business fluctuations from the end of the Second World War until the beginning of the Korean War. The main part of the book is prefaced by a review of fluctuations from 1945 to 1967 and of the business cycle theory, which places the postwar events in perspective. Of special importance are the studies of the ending, in early 1948, of the period of re-stocking and re-equipment; of the impact of the changed farm situation in this deflationary atmosphere, and use of modern consumption theory to explain the changes in household spending after the war and during the recession. Dr. Blyth has drawn extensively upon the results of modern economic research, and has woven the econometric findings and the historical narrative together with a theoretical analysis. He conclusively rejects the theory that recent U.S. business cycles are the result of any largely self-perpetuating fluctuation in investment in stocks. Instead he draws attention to the persistent destabilizing roles of changes in defense expenditure and of changes in monetary policy-inventory investment performs the largely passive role of aggravating these changes. The book, first published in 1969, will be of value not only to specialists in business cycle studies, but to economists and others concerned with the problems of stability and growth in the international economy, as well as to economic historians.
American Business Regulation: Understand, Survive and Thrive
by William LesserWhile there are lengthy texts discussing the economics of why and how governments regulate business and apply antitrust, this book is unique in providing the details of current business regulation in many industries through lengthy examples the author develops with the use of cases, including Harvard Business School cases. Students are then guided to devise business strategies of introducing new products within the scope of regulation (known or unknown). While the economic theories of regulation are covered, the focus of this text is a "hands-on coping" with regulation and using regulation as a business strategy to deal with competitors. Online instructor's materials are also available for adopters.
American Cancer Society: Access to Care
by Kathryn Rosenberg Robert L. SimonsCEO John Seffrin decides to radically change the strategy of the American Cancer Society. The new Access to Care strategy relies on advocacy to change public policy and increase the number of Americans eligible for cancer prevention and treatment. The new strategy brings with it considerable political risk. Leveraging an organization with 3 million volunteers, this case describes how he skillfully transforms the organization (structure, control systems, staff, shared values, etc.) to implement the new strategy.
American Capitalism: New Histories (Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism)
by Edited by Sven Beckert Christine DesanThe United States has long epitomized capitalism. From its enterprising shopkeepers, wildcat banks, violent slave plantations, huge industrial working class, and raucous commodities trade to its world-spanning multinationals, its massive factories, and the centripetal power of New York in the world of finance, America has come to symbolize capitalism for two centuries and more. But an understanding of the history of American capitalism is as elusive as it is urgent. What does it mean to make capitalism a subject of historical inquiry? What is its potential across multiple disciplines, alongside different methodologies, and in a range of geographic and chronological settings? And how does a focus on capitalism change our understanding of American history?American Capitalism presents a sampling of cutting-edge research from prominent scholars. These broad-minded and rigorous essays venture new angles on finance, debt, and credit; women’s rights; slavery and political economy; the racialization of capitalism; labor beyond industrial wage workers; and the production of knowledge, including the idea of the economy, among other topics. Together, the essays suggest emerging themes in the field: a fascination with capitalism as it is made by political authority, how it is claimed and contested by participants, how it spreads across the globe, and how it can be reconceptualized without being universalized. A major statement for a wide-open field, this book demonstrates the breadth and scope of the work that the history of capitalism can provoke.
American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power
by John GalbraithIn his new introduction to this classic text on political economy, Galbraith reasserts the validity of the core thesis of American Capitalism: The best and established answer to economic power is the building of countervailing power. The trade union remains an equalizing force in the labor markets, and the chain store is the best answer to the market power of big food companies. This work remains an essential guidepost of American mores as well as that as of the American economy.
American Capitalism: A Reader
by Louis Hyman Edward E. Baptist"Welcome to this collection of important documents and essays about the history of American capitalism. We hope you will find these to be useful supplements to courses on the history of capitalism in the United States and elsewhere. There is no one right way to read this book, and no one right way to use it as part of a course. We only hope that you will find these readings as illuminating as we have found them. Taken together, these are the bricks and mortar that allowed us to build more than a class about a specific subject, taught in a specific format. In fact, they have enabled us to shape our understandings of how capitalism has developed and changed and how it continues to change in the United States--and how those developments and changes shape lives, here and in the rest of the world." From the forward.