Biography
Born in 1940, Vedder earned his B.A. in economics at Northwestern University in 1962 and his Ph.D in economics at the University of Illinois in 1965. He has since studied U.S. economic history, particularly as it relates to public policy. Some of his specific research has involvedAmerican immigration, economic issues in American education, and the interrelationship between labor and capital markets.[1][2]
Vedder serves as an Adjunct Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a think tank known for mostly libertarian and conservative perspectives. He has served as an economist with Congress' Joint Economic Committee. In his role with the AEI, he later testified before theCommittee on October 30, 2008.[2][3] He is also director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, D.C.[4]
Vedder's scholarly writings have appeared in journals such as Explorations in Economic History, The Journal of Economic History, andAgricultural History. He has written over two hundred such scholarly articles. Vedder's popular interest writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, and the Christian Science Monitor.[2]
He has published the books The American Economy in Historical Perspective, Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America (with Lowell Gallaway), Can Teachers Own Their Own Schools?, Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much,[2] and The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big-Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy (with Wendell Cox).[4]
Vedder is married to Karen Vedder, to whom he dedicated the book The Wal-Mart Revolution.
