Event

This talk will begin at 12:00pm and end at 1:30pm.

The rise of consumer borrowing – virtually unknown before the twentieth century – has altered our culture and economy. Starting in the years before the Great Depression, increased access to money raised living standards but also introduced unforeseen risks. As lending grew more and more profitable, it displaced funds available for business borrowing, setting our economy on an unsustainable course. Through vivid stories of individuals and institutions affected by these changes, Lois Hyman, assistant professor in the Labor Relations, Law, and History department at the ILR school of Cornell University, charts the collision of commerce and culture in twentieth-century America, giving an historical perspective on what is new – and what is not – in today’s economic turmoil.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/sspf/upcoming