Upcoming Speakers

To be Announced

Past Speakers

Fall 2009 - Dr. Michael Munger, Professor & Chair, Department of Political Science, Professor, Departments of Economics and Public Policy Duke University - issues of justice concerning such topics as price gouging, ticket scalping and mandatory recycling programs.

Dr. Munger received his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1984. Following his graduate training, he was a staff economist at the Federal Trade Commission before entering academia. His research interests include the study of ideology, legislative institutions, elections and public policy, especially campaign finance.

In addition to more than 80 articles and papers published in professional journals and edited volumes, Dr. Munger has co-authored or co-edited (with Melvin Hinich ) three books: Ideology and the Theory of Political Choice (1994), Analytical Politics (1997) and Empirical Studies in Comparative Politics (1998). His fourth and most recent book, Analyzing Policy: Choices, Conflicts and Practices , was published in 2000.

Spring 2009 - Dr. Robert A. Lawson, Auburn University - “Economic Freedom of the World”

Dr. Lawson is the co-author of the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World annual report which provides an economic freedom index for over 140 countries. Lawson has numerous professional publications in journals such as Public Choice, Cato Journal, Kyklos, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, and European Journal of Political Economy . He has served as president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He blogs regularly at www.divisionoflabour.com. He earned his B.S. in economics from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University.

Fall 2008 - Dr. Bryan Caplan - "The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies."

Dr. Caplan earned his B.A. in Economics from UC - Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton.  He has published in the Economic Journal, the Journal of Law and Economics, Social Science Quarterly, the Journal of Public Economics, the Southern Economic Journal, Public Choice, and numerous other outlets. He is also a regular contributor to the EconLog blog:  http://econlog.econlib.org/

Spring 2008 - Walter E. Williams - “The Role of Government in a Free Society.”  Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, holds a B.A. degree in economics from California State University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from UCLA. In addition he holds a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Virginia Union University.

Spring 2007 - Dr. Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics at George Mason University in the Center for the Study of Public Choice spoke on the importance of incentives in “How to Control Other People.” Dr. Cowen is the Director of both the James Buchanan Center and the Mercatus Center, and he publishes daily on the Marginal Revolution blog.

Fall 2007 - Jonathan Wight is a Professor of Economics & International Studies in the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business spoke on “Adam Smith and the Moral Foundations of Capitalism.”

back to top

Fall 2006 - Dr. Eric Daniels
Dr. Eric Daniels, Visiting Scholar at Clemson University's Institute for the Study of Capitalism spoke on “The Moral Foundations of Capitalism.”