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EUGENE MEYER AND THE GERMAN INFLUENCE ON THE ORIGIN OF US FEDERAL FINANCIAL RESCUES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2015

James Butkiewicz
James Butkiewicz*
Affiliation:
Economics, University of Delaware.
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Abstract

While federal financial rescues have become a common response to crises, the federal provision of finance was not one of the original powers of the federal government. One man, Eugene Meyer, is largely responsible for the origin of federal financial rescues, through both the War Finance Corporation and Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Meyer learned laissez-faire economics from William Graham Sumner at Yale. However, German economist Adolph Wagner’s state-socialism philosophy heavily influenced Meyer’s thinking, and Meyer developed an interventionist philosophy. Serving in key government positions, Meyer put his beliefs into practice. These channels of influence and the resulting policies are examined.

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Articles
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 57 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2015 

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