As the global economic crisis that developed in the year 2008 makes clear, it is essential for educated individuals to understand the history that underlies contemporary economic developments. This Encyclopedia offers students and scholars access to information about the concepts, institutions/organizations, events, and individuals that have shaped the history of economics, business, and labor from the origins of what became the United States in an earlier age of globalization and the expansion of capitalism to the present. It includes entries that explore the changing character of capitalism...