One of the strengths of the Public Policy Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library is 20th century economic thought and development. The collections document economic activity on every settled continent and include the papers of important government officials and advisors, influential scholars, bankers and businessmen, and the records of for-profit and non-profit development and advocacy organizations. As a whole, they comprise a valuable resource for scholars to study American economic policy and the ideas of some of the leading economic minds of the 20th century and their impact on the emerging world economy, especially in developing nations. The collections are particularly strong in documenting the subject areas of public and international finance, economic development, United States foreign economic policies, and economic policies in Latin America.
From 2005 to 2007, with the generous support of the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund and a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the Mudd Manuscript Library completed a project to process many of its economics-related public policy collections to modern standards. Twenty-nine collections, totaling over 1,100 linear feet, were processed. This guide is designed to increase access to these collections, as well as twenty-six related collections at the Mudd Manuscript Library which have also been processed. These fifty-five collections, totally over 3,000 linear feet, comprise a majority of the Mudd Manuscript Library's holdings related to economics. Additional materials may be found through searches of the Princeton University Finding Aids, Princeton University Catalog, or by contacting us via our Ask Us! form.
All of the collections in this guide have been cataloged and are listed according to their creator as given in the Princeton University Catalog and the Princeton University Finding Aids. Nearly all of the collections listed in this guide have finding aids that provide additional detail about the scope and content of the collections, as well as complete folder listings. All finding aids available online are linked from their entries in this online guide.
All collection entries in this guide include the title, date span, size (extent), and call number of the collection, as well as a brief abstract consisting of a biographical or historical profile and a summary of the contents. The entries are divided into eight subject categories. Collections are placed in a category based on the main focus of the materials, and may be in more than one category. The eight categories are:
Business History
Demography
Economic Development
Economic Policy
Government Advisors
Monetary Policy
Public and International Finance
World War I and World War II
Additionally, the guide provides access to an alphabetical listing of all the collections included in this guide.
~Adriane Hanson, Project Archivist
