Bradley A. Hansen
Department of Economics
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA
Phone: 540 654 1484
email: bhansen@umw.edu
Education
Ph. D. Economics, Washington University, 1995.
M.A. Economics, Washington University.
M.Sc. Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1985.
B.A., Liberal Arts, The Evergreen State College, 1984.
Publications
Books
Bankrupt in America: A History of Debtors, their Creditors, and the Law in the Twentieth Century (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
Institutions, Entrepreneurs and American Economic History: How The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company Shaped the Laws of Business from 1822 to 1929. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
The National Economy. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Peer Reviewed Journal Publications
“Trust Company Failures and Institutional Change in New York, 1875-1925,” Enterprise & Society 19 no. 2 (June 2018): 241-271.
“The Historian’s Craft and Economics,” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Journal of Institutional Economics 12 no. 2 (2016):349-370.
“A Failure of Regulation? Reinterpreting the Panic of 1907,” Business History Review 88 (Autumn 2014):545-569.
“The Evolution of Garnishment and Wage Assignment Law in Illinois,” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Essays in Economic and Business History 32 (May 2014):19-46.
“Crisis and Bankruptcy: The Mediating Role of State Law, 1922-1932,” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Journal of Economic History 72 (2012):440-460.
“Constraining the state’s ability to employ force: the standing army debates, 1697-99,” (with Shawn Humphrey) Journal of Institutional Economics 6 (2010): 243-259.
“Religion, Social Capital and Business Bankruptcy in the United States, 1921-1932” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Business History 50 (November 2008): 714-727.
“The Role of Path Dependence in the Development of U.S. Bankruptcy Law, 1880-1938” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Journal of Institutional Economics 3 (August 2007): 203 225.
“New Evidence on Race Discrimination Under ‘Separate But Equal’,” (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Essays in Economic and Business History 24(2006): 120-139.
"An Economic Analysis of Adoption from Foster Care," (with Mary Eschelbach Hansen) Child Welfare 85 (May/June 2006): 559-83.
"The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics," The Journal of Economic Education 33 (Summer 2002): 254-63.
"Learning To Tax: The Political Economy of the Opium Trade in Iran, 1921-1941," Journal of Economic History 61(March 2001):95-113.
"The People's Welfare and the Origins of Corporate Reorganization: The Wabash Receivership Reconsidered," Business History Review 74 (Autumn 2000): 377-405. (Recipient of Newcomen-Harvard Special Award from Harvard Business School and the Newcomen Society.)
"Commercial Associations and the Creation of a National Economy: The Demand for Federal Bankruptcy Law," Business History Review 72 (Spring 1998): 86-113.
"The Political Economy of Bankruptcy: The Bankruptcy Act of 1898," Essays in Economic and Business History 15(1997):155-171.
Encyclopedia Entries
"Debt," in Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy, edited by Gwendolyn Mink and Alice O'Connor (2004).
"Bankruptcy Law," in EH.Net's Online Encyclopedia of Economic History (Summer 2001).
Book Reviews
The Economy of Promises: Trust, Power and Credit in America by Bruce Carruthers. EH.Net
Brahmin Capitalism: Frontiers of Wealth and Populism in America’s First Gilded Age by Noam Maggor. Journal of Economic History 79, no. 1 (2019): 304-305.
Engine of Enterprise: Credit in America by Rowena Olegario. Journal of Economic History 77 (2017): 620-621.
The History of Bankruptcy: Economic, social and cultural implications in early modern Europe (ed.) Thomas Max Safley. EH.Net.
State Banking in Early America: A New Economic History by Howard Bodenhorn Eastern Economic Journal 32 (2006):189-90.
Navigating Failure: Bankruptcy and Commercial Society in Antebellum America by Edward J. Balleisen . EH.Net.
Debt's Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in the America by David Skeel EH.Net.
Other Publications
“An Overview of Federal Adoption Policy Legislation,” (with Mary Hansen) published on line by the Center for Adoption Research (http://www.centerforadoptionresearch.org/default.asp?action=article&ID=139&CategoryID=26&CategoryName=Federal).
“Explaining Bankruptcy: An Analysis of State Bankruptcy Rates During the Great Depression,” (with Mary Hansen) The Newsletter of the Cliometric Society (Summer/Fall 2004).
“Fredericksburg Region Commuter Workforce Skills Study” Center for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Mary Washington, April 2016.
Grants and Awards
Shirley Van Epps Waple Professorship, University of Mary Washington, 2014-2016.
Grant from the Sunshine Lady Foundation to fund the course Economics of Philanthropy and the Non-Profit Sector. The grant provides $10,000 to be distributed by students in the class. The initial grant was for Fall 2005 but was extended every year through 2013. The proposal was coauthored with Robert Rycroft.
Newcomen-Harvard Special Award from Harvard Business School and the Newcomen Society for "The People's Welfare and the Origins of Corporate Reorganization: The Wabash Receivership Reconsidered," Business History Review Autumn 2000.
Arthur H. Cole Grant from the Economic History Association, for the project "A New Deal for Bankruptcy Law: The Political Economy of the Chandler Act." 2001-2002.
Faculty Development Grant, Mary Washington College, for the project "Understanding Bankruptcy Law: Too Many Models, Too Little History." 2000-2001.
NEH Summer Seminar Grant to participate in "The Industrial Revolution in Comparative Perspective" in Munich, Germany, 1997.
Faculty Development Grant, Mary Washington College, for the project "The Gender Gap in Black and White: Teaching Salaries in Virginia, 1880-1920" 1997-1998.
Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship, Washington University, 1992-1993.
University Fellowship, Washington University, 1988-1989.
Courses Taught
Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Macroeconomics
American Economic History
Intermediate Microeconomics
Intermediate Macroeconomics (at Monmouth College)
History of Economic Thought (at Washington University)
Introduction to Economic Analysis
Economic Development
Comparative Economic Systems
Law and Economics
Industrial Economics
Government and Business
Money and Banking
Freshman Seminar: Game Theory
Managerial Economics for MBAs (at Minnesota State University – Moorhead)
College Service at the University of Mary Washington
Chair, Department of Economics (2002-2011).
Faculty Senator (2000-2003, 2004-05, and 2014-2016).
Monroe Hall Renovation Committee (2006-07).
General Education Revision Committee (2006-07).
Faculty Organization Committee (1996-98, 1999-2000).
CAS Curriculum Committee (2011- 2014, chair 2012-2013).
University Curriculum Committee (2012-2013).
Promotion and Tenure Appeals Committee (2009-2010).
Economics Department Outcomes Assessment Coordinator.
Executive in Residence Committee.
Faculty Adviser to Pi Gamma Mu (ongoing).
Member of the Advisory Board, Center for Economic Research (2015-2016).
University Budget Advisory Committee
Referee Service
Journal of Institutional Economics
Economic Inquiry
Journal of Economic Education
Business History Review
Sociological Forum
International Review of Economic Education
Law and History
Southern Economic Journal
Journal of Consumer Affairs
Review of Financial Economics
Essays in Economic and Business History
Enterprise and Society
Columbia University Press
Harvard University Press
