Human Capital and Institutions brings to the fore the role of political, social, and economic institutions in human capital formation and economic growth. Written by leading economic historians, the chapters in this text offer a broad-based view of institutions and human capital in economic development.

Introduction David Eltis and Frank D. Lewis; Part I. Health and Living Standards: 1. Biotechnology and the burden of age-related diseases Robert W. Fogel; 2. Extending the reach of anthropometric history to the distant past Richard H. Steckel; 3. Insecurity, safety nets, and self-help in Victorian and Edwardian England George R. Boyer; Part II. Institutions and Schooling: 4. The evolution of schooling institutions in the Americas, 1800¿1925 Stanley L. Engerman, Elisa V. Mariscal, and Kenneth L. Sokoloff; 5. Why the United States led in education: lessons from secondary school expansion, 1910 to 1940 Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz; 6. The production of engineers in New York colleges and universities, 1800¿1950: some new data Michael Edelstein; Part III. Human Capital Outliers: 7. The life-cycle of great artists from Masaccio to Jasper Johns David W. Galenson and Robert Jensen; 8. An elite minority: Jews among the richest 400 Americans Peter Temin; Part IV. Constraints in Labor and Financial Markets: 9. Suffrage and the terms of labor Robert J. Steinfeld; 10. Prodigals and projectors: an economic history of usury laws in the United States from colonial times to 1900 Hugh Rockoff.