Bean is a Member of the Illinois State Advisory Panel for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a Member of the Academic Hall of Fame at St. Michael’s College. He is the recipient of the Henry Adams Prize for Best Book of the Year from the Society for History in the Federal Government and the Herman E. Krooss Prize from the Business History Conference. Bean was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year at Southern Illinois University in 2005. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on corruption in government contracting, consulted for the Japanese government, and served as an expert witness in two landmark court cases.

He was the Senior Editor for H-Business, an on-line journal for business historians, and his other books include Beyond the Broker State: Federal Policies Toward Small Business, 1936-1961 (1996); Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration (2001); and Opposing Viewpoints in U.S. History (2018). His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as The Independent Review, Journal of Policy History, Choice, Enterprise and Society, Business History Review, Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Continuity, Business and Economic History, National Social Science Perspectives Journal, Ohio History, The Historian, Continuity, Business and Economic History, African American National Biography, American National Biography, and the Encyclopedia of American Business History.

His popular articles, interviews and investigative work have appeared in print or on air with a wide range of media outlets: NPR, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Fox, CBS, C-Span, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, Real Clear Investigations, Market Watch Reporters, Mother Jones, Salon, National Review, Weekly Standard, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Daily Caller, McClatchy-Tribune (syndicated columns), Tribune Service (syndicated), Business Week, Forbes, Fortune Small Business, Chronicle of Higher Education, American Banker, Commercial Real Estate, and Good Society. During the 2008 presidential race, Bean served as nonpartisan election analyst for Correio Braziliense, a major Brazilian newspaper. He has also been interviewed by dozens of radio stations.