John Wallis

University of Maryland, Economics, Faculty Member

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nstitutions , organizations , impersonality , and interests : The dynamics f institutions

Institutional economists concerned with rules often focus on the trade-off between individuals an... more Institutional economists concerned with rules often focus on the trade-off between individuals and social incentives. This paper argues that the real trade-off that individuals face is between the organizations they belong to in contrast to social rules, and asks when do individuals find it in their interests to act in the interests of their organizations and when do they support impersonal rules? The answer involves a distinction between anonymous relationships between individuals who do not know each other personally, but know the organizations that the other belongs to, and impersonal relationships in which all individuals are treated the same. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Economic Crisis, General Laws, and the Mid-Nineteenth-Century Transformation of American Political Economy

Before the middle of the nineteenth century most laws enacted in the United States were special b... more Before the middle of the nineteenth century most laws enacted in the United States were special bills that granted favors to specific individuals, groups, or localities. This fundamentally inegalitarian system provided political elites with important tools that they could use to reward supporters, and as a result, they were only willing to modify it under very special circumstances. In the early 1840s, however, a major fiscal crisis forced a number of states to default on their bonded debt, unleashing a political earthquake that swept this system away. Starting with Indiana in 1851, states revised their constitutions to ban the most common types of special legislation and, at the same time, mandate that all laws be general in their application. These provisions dramatically changed the way government and the economy worked and interacted, giving rise to the modern regulatory state, interest-group politics, and a more dynamic form of capitalism.

format_quoteThe crisis prompted Indiana to reform its constitution, banning special and local legislation, marking a substantial shift in governance.format_quote

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Banks, Politics, and Political Parties: From Partisan Banking to Open Access in Early Massachusetts

and seminar participants at the University of Maryland and the 2013 Cliometric Society meeting fo... more and seminar participants at the University of Maryland and the 2013 Cliometric Society meeting for their comments and suggestions on an earlier related paper. Qian Lu thanks Yiqing Xu and the staffs at the Massachusetts State Library and Massachusetts State Archives. Special thanks to Alix Quan of Massachusetts State Library for providing valuable data. For acknowledgments, sources of research support, and disclosure of the authors' material financial relationships, if any, please see .nber .org /chapters /c13507 .ack.

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An Alternative Institutional Approach to Rules, Organizations, and Development

The Journal of Economic History

In the middle of the nineteenth century, a handful of societies began creating and enforcing impe... more In the middle of the nineteenth century, a handful of societies began creating and enforcing impersonal rules, rules that treat everyone the same, on a broad scale. The existing institutional literatures, while appreciating the importance of impersonal rules for the rule of law, have not understood how they contribute to economic and political development through rules that are enforced but not followed: default rules. The conceptual importance of impersonal default rules is drawn out and then applied to better understand both economic and political development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

format_quoteAdopting impersonal rule provisions predicts structural changes in the economy and political system, reflecting historical shifts in party systems.format_quote

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Growing, Shrinking, and Long Run Economic Performance: Historical Perspectives on Economic Development

Using annual data from the thirteenth century to the present, we show that improved long run econ... more Using annual data from the thirteenth century to the present, we show that improved long run economic performance has occurred primarily through a decline in the rate and frequency of shrinking, rather than through an increase in the rate of growing. Indeed, as economic performance has improved over time, the short run rate of growing has typically declined rather than increased. Most analysis of the process of economic development has hitherto focused on increasing the rate of growing. Here, we focus on understanding the forces making for a reduction in the rate of shrinking, drawing a distinction between proximate and ultimate factors. The main proximate factors considered are (1) structural change (2) technological change (3) demographic change and (4) the changing incidence of warfare. We conclude with a consideration of institutional change as the key ultimate factor behind the reduction in shrinking.

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EricAlston, Lee J.Alston, BernardoMueller, and TomasNonnemacher, Institutional and organizational analysis: concepts and applications (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Pp. vii+393. 19 figs. 2 tabs. ISBN 978110708637 Hbk. £71.99; ISBN 9781107451254 Pbk. £24.99)

The Economic History Review

In the Shadow of Violence: Lessons for Limited Access Societies

Voprosy Ekonomiki

The paper presents a summary of the forthcoming book by the authors and discusses the sample stud... more The paper presents a summary of the forthcoming book by the authors and discusses the sample study of the 9 developing countries. While admitting the non-linearity of economic development they claim that the developing countries make a transition from the limited access orders (where the coalition of powerful elite groups plays a major role, that is based on personal connections and hampers free political and economic competition) to the open access orders with democratic government and efficient decentralized economic system. The major conclusion of this article is that what the limited access societies should do is not simply introducing open access institutions, but reorganizing the incentives of the elites so that to limit violence, provide economic and political stability and make a gradual transition to the open access order beneficial for the elites.

What Determines the Allocation of National Government Grants to the States?

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Debt, Default, and Revenue Structure: The American State Debt Crisis in the Early 1840s

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American Government Expenditures: A Historical Perspective

American Economic Review, Feb 1, 1982

Page 1. LONGER-RUN DETERMINANTS OF THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF THE US GOVERNMENT American Government Exp... more

Coordination and Coercion: The Nature of Rules, Governments, States, and Social Dynamics

Measuring the Transaction Sector in the American Economy, 1870-1970

Nber Chapters, 1986

Economists since Adam Smith have extolled the benefits to humanity of specialization and the divi... more Economists since Adam Smith have extolled the benefits to humanity of specialization and the division of labor. If economists have a philosopher's stone it is the principle of comparative advantage. Output can be increased without increasing the number of producers simply by reallocating production to those producers with the lowest opportunity costs. Likewise reallocating goods and services between consumers with different preferences can increase the welfare of society without actually increasing the number of goods and services. In recent decades economists have come to realize that the gains from specialization and the division of labor are not a free lunch. Beginning with Coase's article on "The Nature of the Firm" the role of "transaction costs"-that is, the costs of making exchanges-has become more important in explaining the structure of market and nonmarket forms of economic organization (Coase 1937, 1960). This voluminous literature offers the promise of new insights into the way economic systems evolve, but to this point it has not resulted in an empirical definition or measure of transaction costs. This paper is a preliminary attempt to identify and measure those costs in the American economy between 1870 and 1970. Given the size of the transaction costs literature it is surprising that there has not been an attempt to measure them. Perhaps this stems

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American Economic-Growth and Standards of Living Before the Civil-War - Gallman,Re, Wallis,JJ

Econ Hist Rev, 1994

7, 8). Finally, there is the insightful review and extension of the literature recently prepared ... more 7, 8). Finally, there is the insightful review and extension of the literature recently prepared by Stanley L. Engerman (1990). 9. Inferred from Depew (1895, 2361). 10. The entry of married women into the northeastern industrial labor force could have led to earlier weaning of children, with unfavorable consequences for net nutrition. But the number of married women in the industrial work force was so small that this practice-if it existed at allprobably did not have a detectable effect on average height.

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Book Review:The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities. Mancur Olson

J Bus, 1983

What Caused the Crisis of 1839?

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American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War

Nber Books, 1992

When Great Economists Know a Lot About History 1

Fiscal institutions and fiscal crises

Xix Encuentro De Economia Publica Politicas Publicas Para La Salida De La Crisis 2012 Isbn 978 84 695 1574 7 Pag 5, 2012

The Concept of Systematic Corruption in American History

Lessons from America's Economic History, 2006

and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. This paper originated in a ... more and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. This paper originated in a series of conversations with Claudia Goldin, whom I gratefully acknowledge. Without her support and encouragement it never would have been written. Ed Glaeser challenged me to extend the paper further back in time, a license I took advantage of.

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Politics, Relief, and Reform: The Transformation of America's Social Welfare System during the New Deal

and the conference participants for helpful comments. The views expressed herein are those of the... more

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