Faculty Books, 2000
Archaeology and Created Memory: Public History in a National Park
Paul Shackel, Department of Anthropology
Published by Klewer Academic, 2000
Archaeology can either bolster memory and tradition, or contradict the status quo and provide an alternative view of the past. An archaeology of Harpers Ferry's wartime and Victorian eras confronts time-honored historical interpretations of the past (created and perpetuated by such interest groups as historians and the National Park Service) and in so doing allows us to be more inclusive of the town's forgotten histories and provides alternative voices to a past.
Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home and
in Washington
Paul S. Herrnson, Director of the Center of American
Politics and Citizenship, Department of Government
and Politics
Published by CQ Press, 2000
Congressional Elections: Campaigning at Home
and in Washington is praised for successfully combining solid empirical research
with real world politics and providing a systematic assessment of the campaign
process. The book is unique in being informed by political insiders and also
in its conclusion that most successful congressional candidates actually run
two campaigns-- one in the district or state and another in Washington. These
dual strategies affect who wins individual races and representation in Congress.
Using campaign data, original survey research, and interviews with more than
800 House and Senate candidates and other political insiders, Herrnson systematically
analyzes campaign activities and strategies of the candidates, parties, and
PACs that participated in every congressional election between 1992 and 1998.
Case studies of 60 individual campaigns provide concrete illustrations. Herrnson
also examines recent developments in congressional elections such as soft
money and both party and interest group advocacy advertising.
Institutions,
Incentives and Economic Reforms in India
Anthony Lanyi, Department of Economics, and Satu Kahkonen
(eds.)
Published by Sage Publications, 2000
Institutions, Incentives and Economic Reforms in India analyzes
India's economic reforms from an interdisciplinary perspective. The contributors
argue that successful reform necessitates an understanding of the institutional
and political underpinnings of the economy. The volume is organized in five
parts representing five sectors identified by the contributors as requiring
major reform effort. Among the issues discussed are: the interplay of centre-state
relations and its impact on policy; poor incentive structures facing both
taxpayers and government officials; inadequate coordination among different
levels of government resulting in poor delivery of services; outdated marketing
strategies that impede agricultural growth; and strategies to improve the
operations of the financial and labor markets.
Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and
Capitalist Dictatorships
Mancur Olson (deceased), distinguished professor, Department
of Economics, and founder and principal investigator, Center for Institutional
Reform and the Informal Sector
Published by Basic Books, 2000
Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships
tackles tough questions such as:Why do some economies do better than others?
How does society encourage the kind of market economy that generates continually
increasing incomes? How do particular styles of government affect economic
performance? Olson contends that governments can play an essential role in
the development of markets. Reliable enforcement of private contracts and
protection of individual rights to property depend on governments strong enough
not to undermine them. His exploration of "market-augmenting governments"
will stand as a cutting-edge work on economic growth and provide a useful
framework in which to consider the Asian financial crisis and its aftermath.
As Susan Lee noted in Forbes, "his pioneering insights might have won
a Nobel Prize for Olson had he lived a bit longer."
"Power and Prosperity is an important book, written with
clarity and verve. It is a great misfortune that Mancur Olson is not here
to respond to the debates that it will surely provoke."The Wall Street
Journal.
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