a. Scholars Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson argue in their book American Amnesia that a strong government is crucial to American economic growth. Do you agree? Explain.

b. Hacker and Pierson note that Americans have historically been, on average, the tallest people in the world, but in recent decades Scandinavian and Dutch citizens have passed Americans. Genetics and immigration cannot account for the change. Hacker and Pierson theorize that strong governments in those nations explain their citizen’s robust growth. Why might strong government produce taller citizens?