American Capitalism: 250 Years of Growth of a Successful Economic System
Details
Date: October 16–17, 2026
Location: Kellogg Global Hub, Room 1410, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
About the Conference
Presentations will examine how an economic system of free enterprise and a market economy evolved since 1776, with special emphasis on the growth of markets in financial assets, land, and unfree and free labor. The conference will also discuss the rise of business corporations, the growth of federal and state regulations, the impact of free markets on innovation, and changes in capitalist ideology.
U.S. capitalism was remarkable in its ability to adjust and adapt to changing environments. The conference will stress the fact that the U.S. was never quite a pure laissez faire economy. As calls for regulation and other forms of state intervention grew, American capitalism adapted to the new environment and evolved in symbiosis with rising state capacity.
Preliminary Schedule
Friday, October 16
| 8:00–8:45 AM | Breakfast | |
| 8:45–9:00 AM | Welcome | |
| SESSION 1: MARKETS IN LAND AND LABOR | ||
| 9:00–9:50 AM | Paul Rhode University of Michigan |
Land of 'Isms': Contrasts between Economic and Social Forms in Slave and Free Labor America |
| 9:50–10:40 AM | Ronan Lyons Trinity College Dublin |
Rent & The City |
| 10:40–11:00 AM | Coffee Break | |
| KEYNOTE 1 | ||
| 11:00 AM–12:00 PM | Charlie Calomiris Columbia Business School |
Capital Scarcity as a Defining American Characteristic |
| 12:00–1:30 PM | Lunch | |
| SESSION 2: SPATIAL PATTERNS | ||
| 1:30–2:20 PM | Jeff Lin Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia |
Spreading Out Across Expanding Idea Space |
| 2:20–3:10 PM | Martin Fitzbein Boston University |
The American Revolution and the Rise of the Corporation: A Comparative Perspective |
| 3:10–3:30 PM | Coffee Break | |
| SESSION 3: BUSINESS AND THE STATE | ||
| 3:30–4:20 PM | Eric Hilt Wellesley College |
The American Revolution and the Rise of the Corporation: A Comparative Perspective |
| 4:20–5:10 PM | Martin Rotemberg New York University |
Tariffs and State Capacity: A Specific Example |
| 6:30 PM | Dinner at Nakorn (1622 Orrington Ave.) - by invitation | |
Saturday, October 17
| 8:00–9:00 AM | Breakfast | |
| SESSION 4: MOBILITY | ||
| 9:00–9:50 AM | Zach Ward Baylor University |
The Rise and Fall of the Economic Elite in American History |
| 9:50–10:40 AM | Shari Eli University of Toronto |
The Origins of Generosity and Racial Exclusion in the American Welfare ‘System |
| 10:40–11:00 AM | Coffee Break | |
| KEYNOTE 2 | ||
| 11:00 AM–12:00 PM | Naomi Lamoreaux Yale University |
Factions, Interest Groups, and the Perils of Democracy In US History |
| 12:00–1:30 PM | Lunch | |