New Books in Economics How Government Made the U.S. into a Manufacturing Powerhouse
Nov 10, 2025
Colleen Dunlavy, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses her book on how government intervention transformed U.S. manufacturing. She highlights the impact of standardization on production efficiency and cost reduction, tracing lessons from World War I to modern times. The conversation explores how mid-sized firms navigated these changes and the role of key figures like Shaw and Hoover in shaping policies. Dunlavy's insights reveal the intricate interplay between government action and industrial evolution, making critical connections relevant today.
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State-Driven Standardization Wins Consensus
- Government played a central role in getting competing manufacturers to agree on industry-wide standard sizes in the 1920s.
- Herbert Hoover's Commerce Department recreated wartime coordination to reduce risk for firms moving to mass production.
Mass Production Was Not Inevitable
- Mass production did not emerge naturally after manufacturers learned the techniques in WWI; many reverted to diverse production.
- Simplification required organized government intervention to overcome firms' incentives to differentiate.
Middling Firms Shaped Standards Debate
- Middling manufacturers populated trade journals and drove debates about practical production problems.
- These medium firms were crucial intermediaries between craft producers and corporate giants in standardization efforts.
