New Books In Economics

The cultural and material history of what is fashionable or “trendy” can be particularly revealing about the time period under study. The most recent work that underscores this point is Jennifer Anderson‘s Mahogany: The Cost of Luxury in Early America (Harvard University Press, 2012).  Anderson traces the popularity of mahogany wood in the mid eighteenth century from its use in England–a matter of necessity due to wood shortages–to its elective use in the American colonies among elite classes as a measure of cultural and social refinement. Unlike ephemeral goods like sugar and tobacco (which were purchased by elites but consumed and discarded shortly thereafter) mahogany was something solid, something lasting, something passed down to subsequent generations. Social engagements revolved around mahogany. Elites coveted the intricate and ornate furnishings, which because of mahogany’s incredible density, could only be crafted with mahogany. Even the middling classes would indu