Progress and Reform

This study re-examines the economic thought of John
R. Commons (1862-1945). Commons was a leading
Progressive Era
American economist based primarily at the University
of Wisconsin. He
was active in the La Follette administration in
Wisconsin and drafted
that State''s Civil Service law (which became the
basis of Federal law),
created the Industrial Commission law, and the Public
Utility Act -- the
cornerstones of progressive era legislation. In
addition he is commonly
regarded as a founder of the American "Institutional"
school of
economic thought. Toward this end this work attempts
to first,
organize Commons economic system into a
workable framework, second, reconcile Commons value
conception with those of other founding authors in
the original institutional tradition, and third, to
show the linkages between Commons thought and the
research agenda of the newer institutional school.

Autorentext

Dr. Thomas Kemp is an Associate Professor of Economics in thedepartment of economics at the University of Wisconsin- EauClaire. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Colorado StateUniversity in 2002. His work has been published in the Journal of Economic Issues, TheReview of Social Economics, and the Forum for Social Economics.

Klappentext

This study re-examines the economic thought of JohnR. Commons (1862-1945). Commons was a leadingProgressive Era American economist based primarily at the Universityof Wisconsin. He was active in the La Follette administration inWisconsin and drafted that State's Civil Service law (which became thebasis of Federal law), created the Industrial Commission law, and the PublicUtility Act -- the cornerstones of progressive era legislation. Inaddition he is commonly regarded as a founder of the American "Institutional"school of economic thought. Toward this end this work attemptsto first, organize Commons' economic system into aworkable framework, second, reconcile Commons' valueconception with those of other founding authors inthe original institutional tradition, and third, toshow the linkages between Commons' thought and theresearch agenda of the newer institutional school.