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McCloskey, Robert

(Encyclopedia)McCloskey, Robert (John Robert McCloskey) məklŏˈskē [key], 1914–2003, American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. Hamilton, Ohio. He studied at the Vesper George Art School, Boston, ...

Benson, Ezra Taft

(Encyclopedia)Benson, Ezra Taft, 1899–1994, U.S. secretary of agriculture (1953–61), b. Whitney, Idaho. An extension economist and marketing specialist at the Univ. of Idaho (1930–38) and executive secretary ...

value, in economics

(Encyclopedia)value, in economics, worth of a commodity in terms of other commodities, or in terms of money (see price). Value depends on both desirability and scarcity. The marginal theory of value, pioneered in t...

Wood, Mrs. Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wood, Mrs. Henry, 1814–87, English novelist whose maiden name was Ellen Price. Her melodramatic and sensational novel East Lynne (1861) was dramatized and became a permanent stock piece for more tha...

Metropolitan Opera Company

(Encyclopedia)Metropolitan Opera Company, term used in referring collectively to the organizations that have produced opera at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. The original house, at West 39th Street an...

Henderson, Leon

(Encyclopedia)Henderson, Leon, 1895–1986, American economist, administrator of the Office of Price Administration (1941–42), b. Millville, N.J. An official of the Russell Sage Foundation (1925–34), Henderson ...

Pied Piper of Hamelin

(Encyclopedia)Pied Piper of Hamelin, legendary figure of Hameln, Germany. He rid the town of its rats and mice by charming them away with his flute playing. When the citizens refused to pay him the price they had a...

Clayton Antitrust Act

(Encyclopedia)Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914, passed by the U.S. Congress as an amendment to clarify and supplement the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. It was drafted by Henry De Lamar Clayton. The act prohibited exclu...

inflation

(Encyclopedia)inflation, in economics, persistent and relatively large increase in the general price level of goods and services. Its opposite is deflation, a process of generally declining prices. The U.S. Bureau ...

rent control

(Encyclopedia)rent control, in economics and law, government regulation of rent to prevent unreasonable or excessive increases. In the United States, the federal government imposed rent control (and other price con...