The American economy has provided a level of well-being that has consistently ranked at or near the top of the international ladder. A key source of this success has been widespread participation in political and economic processes. In The Government and the American Economy, leading economic historians chronicle the significance of America’s open-access society and the roles played by government in its unrivaled success story.
America’s democratic experiment, the authors show, allowed individuals and interest groups to shape the structure and policies of government, which, in turn, have fostered economic success and innovation by emphasizing private property rights, the rule of law, and protections of individual freedom. In response to new demands for infrastructure, America’s federal structure hastened development by promoting the primacy of states, cities, and national governments. More recently, the economic reach of American government expanded dramatically as the populace accepted stronger limits on its economic freedoms in exchange for the increased security provided by regulation, an expanded welfare state, and a stronger national defense.
Robert A. McGuire was born in Long Beach, California and grew up in Lakewood, CA. He attended Paramount High School (Paramount, CA) where he ran around with a group of rowdy friends as well as participated in cross-country and track. His education continued at Rio Hondo College (Whittier, CA), California State University-Long Beach, and the University of Washington in Seattle where he received a Ph.D. in economics; McGuire is an economist with a strong historical bent. He is presently a research professor at the University of Akron in Ohio and has previously been on the faculty at Ball State University in Indiana and held visiting appointments at Ohio State, Washington State, and the Universities of California at Berkeley, Davis, and Santa Cruz. He is an avid hiker, runner, skier, traveler, and wine collector who spends a week each spring skiing in Colorado, a couple or so weeks each summer in Europe, and the winter holidays in Southern California.
McGuire's research interests are multi-faceted, examining economic development issues that integrate economic, historical, and microbiology perspectives as well as examining various constitutional issues that integrate economics, history, and politics. His most recent book is _Parasites, Pathogens, and Progress: Diseases and Economic Development_ (MIT Press 2011).
