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Economic Theory and the Rise of Big Business in America, 1870–1910

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2011

Jack High
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Abstract

Between 1870 and 1910, big business established itself as a prominent feature of the American economy. American economists paid close attention to its rise and confronted the difficulties of integrating large firms into economic theory. The result was a theory that emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship, that enlarged the scope of competition, that distinguished profit from other forms of income, and that was compatible with large-scale enterprise. The insights of earlier American economists have been lost to modern economic theory, which extols the virtues of small firms.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 85 , Issue 1 , Spring 2011 , pp. 85 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2011

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References

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