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A letter from professor Walter Block:

Dear Colleagues:

Below see a letter I am putting together for my senior students who are thinking of going to graduate school to get a phd. All of them are interested in going to a university where the professors are sympathetic to free enterprise.

I list several options for them. There are no doubt several errors both of commission and omission in this list. Could you please correct these mistakes, so that I can give my students the most accurate information possible? ...

The letter:

Dear Students:

Here are my recommendations re grad schools.

I have three separate lists. In A, you can get a phd in economics, and Austrian economics is part of the official program.

In B, you can not get a phd in economics, and Austrian economics is not part of the official program, but there are Austrian economists on the faculty.

In C you can get a phd in economics, and Austrian economics is not part of the official program (but there are libertarians on the faculty).

A1. George Mason.
There are quite a few Austrian economics on the faculty: Don Boudreaux, Karen Vaughn (who is retiring soon), Richard Wagner, Jack High, Tyler Cowen, Alex Tabbarok. In addition, James Buchanan has some Austrian leanings, but only on subjective costs, and Bryan Caplan and Gordon Tullock are knowledgeable about Austrianism, albeit critical. Plus there are an additional, dozen or so libertarian but non Austrian profs, several in the law school; for example, Walter Williams, James Bennett, Ron Heiner, Charles Rowley, Vernon Smith, John Hasnas, Michael Krauss. Buchanan and Smith are Nobel Prize winners in economics. Contact: "Peter Boettke" pboettke@gmu.edu .

A2. New York University.
Mario Rizzo and Steven Harper are Austrian economists. NYU features an informal weekly Austrian seminar attended by several New York City area Austro libertarians, including Joe Salerno, ... Contact: mario.rizzo@nyu.edu

A3. Florida State, Tallahassee.
Bruce Benson and Randy Holcombe have interests in Austrianism; James Gwartney, is a free enterpriser. Contacts: "Prof. James D. Gwartney" jdgwart@aol.com , jgwartne@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
"Bruce Benson" bbenson@garnet.acns.fsu.edu holcombe@garnet.acns.fsu.edu

B1. Auburn University.
There is no phd in economics. The agricultural school has a phd program in agricultural economics. It is flexible so students can write dissertations with people from the economics department. You can also get a "resource"
economics phd from the forestry department which is similarly flexible. Most students take most of their core courses in the economics department. Professors sympathetic to free enterprise include John Jackson in economics,
David Laband (formerly of econ. department) now in forestry, Henry Thompson (formerly of econ. department) now in agriculture. Mark Thornton (an Austro libertarian) serves on a few dissertation committees. Contact: "Prof. Roger
W. Garrison" rgarrisn@business.auburn.edu

B2. University of Nevada at Law Vegas.
There is available a phd in Political Science and Sociology. Hans Hoppe can be member of either of these dissertation committees. Contact:
hoppeh@nevada.edu

B3. University of Missouri at Columbia.
Offers a phd in agricultural economics. Peter Klein is a libertarian Austrian. Contact: Peter Klein pklein@missouri.edu

B4. Guelph University.
Glenn Fox is an Austro libertarian. Only the phd in agricultural economics is available. However, Canada is even more socialistic than the U.S., hard as that is to believe. Contact: Glenn C. Fox Gfox@agec.uoguelph.ca

C1. University of Chicago. There are lots of free enterprise but non Austrian professors here. Almost all Nobel Prizes awarded to free enterprise oriented economists have had some contact with Chicago.

C2. University of Georgia, Athens.
George Selgin is highly knowledgeable about Austrian economics. Dwight Lee is a libertarian. I think there are two or three other libertarian non Austrian profs there. Contact: "Prof. Dwight R. Lee" DLEE@cbacc.cba.uga.edu
; "selgin@terry.uga.edu" selgin@terry.uga.edu
.

C3. Washington University, St. Louis
Murray Weidenbaum is a free market oriented professor, and Douglass North is a Nobel Laureate in Economics with a free market orientation. To the best of my knowledge, Wash U has more libertarian students than at any other school, virtually none of whom are econ majors. Contact: Art Carden, carden@wueconc.wustl.edu a graduate
student in economics.

Dr. Walter Block
Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics
College of Business Administration
Loyola University New Orleans
6363 St. Charles Ave., Box 15
New Orleans, LA 70118
www.cba.loyno.edu/faculty/block/index.html
Office location: Miller Hall 321
work: (504)864-7934
secy: (504)864-7944
fax: (504)864-7970
wblock@loyno.edu

Posted by Greg Ransom | TrackBack