From Competition to Coordination: The Administrative Turn in American Political Economy, 1890–1920

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of American economic authority between 1890 and 1920, arguing that a market-centered order gradually shifted toward a system increasingly grounded in administrative coordination. It aims to show that U.S. economic power was not derived solely from rising production or expanding trade, but from the governance of circulation—the movement of goods, capital, labor, and information. The analysis employs qualitative document analysis, reading contemporaneous public narratives alongside fiscal and institutional developments to trace how stability came to be defined in terms of continuity, predictability, and oversight rather than market spontaneity. Taxation policy, corporate scale, labor-time regulation, logistical and shipping infrastructures, and the institutional design of central banking are examined as interconnected mechanisms through which coordination was normalized and operationalized. The findings suggest that wartime disruption and recurrent crises accelerated the consolidation of coordinated economic management and strengthened the institutional role of fiscal and monetary instruments in stabilizing circulation and mitigating volatility. Overall, the study contends that the rise of American economic authority rested on the institutionalization of administrative capacities that rendered interdependence governable across expanding national and international networks.

Keywords

• Economic State
• Circulation
• Coordination
• Institutionalization
• Federal Reserve

Rekabetten Koordinasyona Geçiş: Amerikan Siyasal Ekonomisinde İdari Dönüşüm, 1890–1920

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 1890–1920 yılları arasında Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde piyasa rekabetine dayalı ekonomik düzenin giderek koordinasyon temelli idari yapılara evrilmesini incelemektedir. Çalışmanın amacı, ulusal ekonomik gücün yalnızca üretim artışı ya da dış ticaret genişlemesiyle değil; mal, sermaye, emek ve bilginin hareketi olarak tanımlanan dolaşımın yönetimi yoluyla kurulduğunu göstermektir. Araştırma, dönemsel kamusal anlatılar ile mali ve kurumsal düzenlemeleri birlikte ele alan nitel bir doküman analizi yaklaşımına dayanır. Vergilendirme politikaları, kurumsal ölçeklenme, emek-zaman düzenlemeleri, lojistik altyapı, deniz taşımacılığına ilişkin korumacı uygulamalar ve merkez bankacılığına ilişkin kurumsal tasarımlar; istikrarın rekabetten ziyade süreklilik, öngörülebilirlik ve idari gözetim üzerinden tanımlandığı bir yönetişim mantığı içinde değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular, savaş ve kriz koşullarının koordinasyon mekanizmalarını hızlandırdığını; maliye ve para politikası araçlarının, dolaşımın sürekliliğini sağlama ve dalgalanmaları sınırlama amacıyla kurumsallaştığını göstermektedir. Sonuç olarak çalışma, ABD’nin ekonomik yükselişinin serbest piyasanın kendiliğinden işleyişinden çok, dolaşımı istikrara kavuşturmayı hedefleyen idari kapasite ve kurumsal tasarım üzerinden şekillendiğini ileri sürmektedir.

Keywords

• Ekonomik Devlet
• Dolaşım
• Koordinasyon
• Kurumsallaşma
• Federal Rezerv Sistemi

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