IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/jecper/v19y2005i4p207-224.html

Retrospectives: Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas C. Leonard

Abstract

During the Progressive Era, eugenic approaches to social and economic reform were popular, respectable and widespread. This essay documents the influence of eugenic ideas upon American economic reform, especially in the areas of immigration and labor reform, and tries to illuminate something of its causes and consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas C. Leonard, 2005. "Retrospectives: Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 207-224, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:19:y:2005:i:4:p:207-224
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/089533005775196642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/089533005775196642
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sidney Webb, 1912. "The Economic Theory of a Legal Minimum Wage," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(10), pages 973-973.
    2. Thomas C. Leonard, 2000. "The Very Idea of Applying Economics: The Modern Minimum-Wage Controversy and Its Antecedents," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 32(5), pages 117-144, Supplemen.
    3. Thomas C. Leonard, 2005. "Protecting Family and Race," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 757-791, July.
    4. Edward Alsworth Ross, 1903. "Recent Tendencies in Sociology. III," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 17(3), pages 438-455.
    5. Claudia Goldin, 1994. "The Political Economy of Immigration Restriction in the United States, 1890 to 1921," NBER Chapters, in: The Regulated Economy: A Historical Approach to Political Economy, pages 223-258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Terenzio Maccabelli, 2008. "Social Anthropology in Economic Literature at the End of the 19th Century: Eugenic and Racial Explanations of Inequality," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(3), pages 481-527, July.
    2. Price V. Fishback & Andrew J. Seltzer, 2021. "The Rise of American Minimum Wages, 1912–1968," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 73-96, Winter.
    3. Nick Cowen, 2018. "Mill’s radical end of laissez-faire: A review essay of the political economy of progress: John Stuart Mill and modern radicalism," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 373-386, September.
    4. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2019. "Cultural interaction and economic development: An overview," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 243-251.
    5. Price, Gregory N. & Darity Jr., William A., 2010. "The economics of race and eugenic sterilization in North Carolina: 1958-1968," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 261-272, July.
    6. Carlana, Michela & Tabellini, Marco, 2018. "Happily Ever After: Immigration, Natives' Marriage, and Fertility," Working Paper Series rwp18-035, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    7. Andrew Farrant, 2008. "The “Vanity of the Philosopher”: Analytical Egalitarianism, Associationist Psychology, and Eugenic Remaking?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(3), pages 415-428, July.
    8. Ramon P. DeGennaro & Daniel J. Smith, 2023. "Harold A. Black academic conference: an introduction to the special issue," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(3), pages 317-324, December.
    9. Leonard, Thomas C., 2009. "Origins of the myth of social Darwinism: The ambiguous legacy of Richard Hofstadter's Social Darwinism in American Thought," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 37-51, July.
    10. Stefano Spalletti & Roberto Lampa, 2025. "Pantaleoni at 100: An Assessment," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2025(1), pages 5-12.
    11. Dania V. Francis & Samuel L. Myers Jr., 2026. "Stratification Economics: The Intellectual Tradition," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Race and Stratification, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2016. "Adam Smith’s Economics and the Modern Minimum Wage Debate:The Large Distance Separating Kirkcaldy from Chicago," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 29-52, March.
    2. Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner, 2024. "Minimum Wages in the 21st Century," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2425, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    3. Vera Bitsch & Stefan Mair & Marta M. Borucinska & Christiane A. Schettler, 2017. "Introduction of a Nationwide Minimum Wage: Challenges to Agribusinesses in Germany," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 19(1), pages 13-34.
    4. Gautié, Jérôme, 2015. "D'un siècle à l'autre, salaire minimum, science économique et débat public aux États-Unis, en France et au Royaume-Uni (1890-2015)," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1518, CEPREMAP.
    5. Biavaschi, Costanza & Facchini, Giovanni, 2020. "Immigrant Franchise and Immigration Policy: Evidence from the Progressive Era," IZA Discussion Papers 13195, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Andrew J. Seltzer, 2024. "The Political Economy of Minimum Wage Setting: The Factories and Shops Act of Victoria (Australia), 1896-1913," CEH Discussion Papers 02, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    7. Andrew Seltzer & Martin Shanahan & Claire Wright, 2025. "The Rise and Fall and Rise (?) of Economic History in Australia," Frontiers in Economic History, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), The State of Economic History, pages 111-138, Springer.
    8. Roy E. Bailey & Timothy J. Hatton & Kris Inwood, 2016. "Atmospheric Pollution and Child Health in Late Nineteenth Century Britain," CEH Discussion Papers 052, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    9. Mario Seccareccia, 1991. "Salaire minimum, emploi et productivité dans une perspective post-keynésienne," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 67(2), pages 166-191.
    10. Oren M. Levin-Waldman, "undated". "Automatic Adjustment of the Minimum Wage, Linking the Minimum Wage to Productivity," Economics Public Policy Brief Archive ppb_42, Levy Economics Institute.
    11. Zoe Adams & Centre for Business Research, 2018. "'Wage', 'Salary' & 'Remuneration': A Genealogical Exploration of Juridical Terms & Their Significance for the Employer's Power to Make Deductions from Wages," Working Papers wp499, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    12. Fabrice Murtin & Martina Viarengo, 2010. "American education in the age of mass migrations 1870–1930," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 4(2), pages 113-139, June.
    13. Jellal, Mohamed, 2012. "Maroc salaire minimum emploi et pauvreté [Morocco minimum wage employment and poverty]," MPRA Paper 38491, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Thomas C. Leonard, 2005. "Protecting Family and Race," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 757-791, July.
    15. Zimran, Ariell, 2022. "US immigrants’ secondary migration and geographic assimilation during the Age of Mass Migration," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Richardson Gary, 2005. "The Origins of Anti-Immigrant Sentiments: Evidence from the Heartland in the Age of Mass Migration," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-48, June.
    17. Michael R. Strain & Stan Veuger, 2022. "Economic shocks and clinging," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 456-475, July.
    18. Joan Llull, 2018. "The Effect of Immigration on Wages: Exploiting Exogenous Variation at the National Level," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(3), pages 608-662.
    19. Price V. Fishback & Andrew J. Seltzer, 2021. "The Rise of American Minimum Wages, 1912–1968," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 73-96, Winter.
    20. Kevin H. O'Rourke & Jeffrey G. Williamson & T. J. Hatton, 1993. "Mass migration, commodity market integration and real wage convergence : the late nineteenth century Atlantic economy," Working Papers 199325, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:19:y:2005:i:4:p:207-224. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.