Designs within Disorder: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Economists, and the Shaping of American Economic Policy, 1933-1945

by William J. Barber

Overview

More so than had any of his predecessors in the White House, Franklin D. Roosevelt drew heavily on the thinking of economists as he sought to combat the Great Depression, to mobilize the American economy for war, and to chart a new order for the postwar world. Designs within Disorder is an inquiry into the way divergent analytic perspectives competed for official favor and the manner in which the President opted to pick and choose among them when formulating economic policies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521560788
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/28/1996
Series:	Historical Perspectives on Modern Economics
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.55(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Guide to abbreviations in citations of sources; Prologue; 1. Stage setting in the presidential campaign of 1932; 2. Curtain raising in the first hundred days; 3. Deployments in the second half of 1933; 4. Rethinking the structuralist agenda (I): the fate of NRA, 1934–5; 5. Rethinking the structuralist agenda (II): the fate of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, 1934-6; 6. Rethinking macroeconomic strategies, 1934–6; 7. Shock tremors and their repercussions, 1937–8; 8. Toward a new 'official model,' 1939–40; 9. Designs for the management of an economy at war; 10. Designs for the postwar world; Epilogue; Bibliographical note; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...[later generations of economists]...will find in it a source of pride at the status their forebearers achieved....Barber has performed a valuable service in synthesizing much that was already known and unearthing much that was new from his study of the archival material." Herbert Stein, Journal of Economic Literature

"...highly recommended to all..." J. Atack, Choice

"William Barber has written an interesting work on the importance of economic thinking during the Great Depression years. In so doing, his efforts remain worthwhile." Michael V. Namorato, EH.NET BOOK REVIEW

"William Barber has written an interesting work on the importance of economic thinking during the Great Depression years. In so doing, his efforts remain worthwhiles." Michael V. Namorato, H-Net Reviews

"This most interesting, enjoyable book continues William Barber's exploration into the role of economists as they tried to and did influence policy during the Hoover and Roosevelt years....This is a book many no doubt thought of writing. Barber did it and did it well." Frank G. Steindl, Southern Economic Journal

"...a well written, intelligently conceived description of how the Roosevelt administration experimented with and then discarded various schools of economic thought, to end up with a domesticated version of Keynesiansim." James S. Olson, The Journal of American History

"William Barber has written an interesting work on the importance of economic thinking during the Great Depression years. In so doing, his efforts remain worthwhile." Michael V. Namorrato, H-Net Reviews

"...the book accomplishes its goals well and deserves high marks for its scholarship and engaging prose. It should have an interdisciplinary audience of historians of the period, social scientists interested in bringing a historical component into policy analysis, and economists who would understand the evolution of their discipline and its place in Barber's earlier work." Ellis W. Hawley, Jrnl of Interdisciplinary History

"This most interesting, enjoyable book continues William Barber's exploration into the role of economists as they tried to and did influence policy during the Hoover and Roosevelt years." Frank G. Steindl, Southern Economic Journal

From the Publisher