Hayek Program Podcast

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Mario Small delivers a keynote lecture at the 2024 Markets & Society conference on financial institutions and racial inequality—using payday lenders as a lens to understand how place and institutional context shape economic life.Small begins with a deceptively simple question: how often is it easier to reach a payday lender than a traditional bank—and does that vary by neighborhood racial composition? He shows that racial gaps in access and attitudes persist even after accounting for socioeconomic differences, and argues that proximity, convenience, and institutional experience help shape preferences, even as most Americans hold negative views of payday lenders.Together, these insights offer a nuanced account of how neighborhood context and institutional behavior interact to reproduce inequality, challenging simple explanations rooted in individual choice and highlighting the importance of lived experience in economic decision-making.Dr. Mario L. Small is Quetelet Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. A University of Bremen Excellence Chair, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and the Sociological Research Association, Small has published award-winning articles and books on urban inequality, personal networks, and the relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods. His books include Villa Victoria: The Transformation of Social Capital in a Boston Barrio, Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life -- both of which received the C. Wright Mills Award for Best Book -- and Someone To Talk To: How Networks Matter in Practice, which received the James Coleman Best Book Award among other honors.**This episode was recorded October 12, 2024.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgram

On this episode, Chris Coyne speaks with Brigitta Jones, Nathan Goodman, and Karla Segovia about Kenneth Boulding’s insights on war, peace, and the political economy of conflict applied to contemporary questions about military organization and the dynamics of civil conflict.First, Jones discusses her coauthored paper with Coyne, “The Political Economy of Milorg,” which uses Boulding’s concept of Milorg to examine the entanglement of public agencies and private firms in the military sector. She highlights how knowledge problems, incentives, and political processes shape what the military produces and how those decisions affect the broader economy. Goodman and Segovia then join Coyne to discuss their paper, “Unstable Peace in El Salvador,” coauthored with Abby Hall. Drawing on Boulding’s framework, they examine how shifting expectations, beliefs, and “taboo lines” eroded the country’s fragile peace, highlighting how strains such as land concentration, poverty, repression, and escalating violence contributed to the outbreak of civil war.Together, these conversations illustrate how Boulding’s insights illuminate both the functioning of the modern military-industrial landscape and the complex processes through which societies move between peace and war. This is the third episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.Brigitta Jones is a PhD student in Economics at George Mason University. Her research interests include the welfare state of the United States.Dr. Nathan P. Goodman is a Senior Research Fellow and Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research broadly focuses on political economy, public choice, market process economics, New Institutional Economics, and defense economics.Dr. Karla Segovia is a program manager for Research & Programs and a Research Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she works on the Markets & Society conference and journal. She is also an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College.Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (University of Michigan Press, 1956).U.S. Congressional Testimony by Kenneth Boulding (1969)**This episode was recorded October 27, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with Angus Burgin, Simon Halliday, and Glory Liu to explore their innovative work at the Center for Economy and Society and the creation of a new undergraduate program in Moral and Political Economy. They dive into the revival of political economy as a cross-disciplinary field, the pedagogical innovations shaping the next generation of thinkers, the coming 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, and more.Dr. Angus Burgin is Associate Professor of History and Founding Director of the Program in Moral and Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University. He serves as Co-Executive Editor of the book series, Intellectual History of the Modern Age, and he is the author of The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free Markets since the Depression (Harvard University Press, 2015).Dr. Simon Halliday is Associate Research Professor and Associate Director in the Center for Economy and Society at Johns Hopkins University. He is the co-author (with Sam Bowles) of an intermediate microeconomics textbook, Microeconomics: Competition, Conflict and Coordination (Oxford University Press, 2022).Dr. Glory Liu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. She is the author of Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism (Princeton University Press, 2022).Show Notes:John Hopkins University’s BA in Moral + Political EconomyCore EconAdam Smith’s book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Liberty Fund, 1982)Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s book, Women and Economics (Small, Maynard & Company, 1898)Tim Rogan’s book, The Moral Economists: R. H. Tawney, Karl Polanyi, E. P. Thompson, and the Critique of Capitalism (Princeton University Press, 2018)Warren Samuels’ paper, “Adam Smith and the Economy as a System of Power”**This episode was recorded October 30, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Chris Coyne speaks with Michael Romero, Mikayla Novak, and Anna Claire Flowers about the enduring influence of Kenneth Boulding on how we understand peace and cooperation. Romero discusses his paper “Markets as a Peace Lab,” coauthored with Virgil Storr, which explains how markets act as spaces where individuals cultivate trust, empathy, and peaceful exchange. Novak joins to discuss her paper “Kenneth Boulding’s The Image: A Cognitive Basis for Peace Entrepreneurship,” connecting Boulding’s insights on human cognition to the creative work of fostering peace. In the final part of the episode, Coyne and Flowers reflect on their coauthored paper “The Family and the Stable Peace,” highlighting how the family serves as a training ground for the habits and relationships that sustain cooperation. Together, these conversations show how Boulding’s vision of peace continues to shape research on economics, society, and human flourishing.This is the second episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics.Dr. Michael R. Romero is Professor of Economics and Business at Thales College. Previously, he was an associate program director for Academic & Student Programs and a Research Fellow for the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship.Dr. Mikayla Novak is a Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She is a contributing editorial board member of Cosmos + Taxis and recently was the editor of Liberal Emancipation: Explorations in Political and Social Economy (Springer Nature, 2025).Anna Claire Flowers is a PhD student in Economics at George Mason University and is currently a fellow in the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Her research interests include family economics, in particular the economic significance of family relationships and the economic factors that influence family decision-making.Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (University of Michigan Press, 1956).Elise Boulding’s book, Cultures of Peace (Syracuse University Press, 2000)Learning for Peace Initiative | United Nations Children’s FundThe Review of Austrian EconomicsF.A. Hayek’s book, The Sensory Order: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Theoretical Psychology (The University of Chicago Press, 1952)Gerald P. O’Driscoll and Mario Rizzo’s book, The Economics of Time and Ignorance (Routledge, 1996)Israel Kirzner’s book, The Meaning of the Market Process: Essays in the Development of Modern Austrian Economics (Routledge, 1992)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Nina Bandelj delivers a keynote lecture at the 2023 Markets & Society conference on the social life of money for children. Drawing on research about what she calls the “parenting economy,” she shows that parents increasingly treat children as human capital investments, using savings plans, loans, and educational spending to secure their futures. Bandelj argues that the financialization of family life reflects parental pressures and social inequality, calling for children to be seen as a shared public responsibility rather than private investments.Dr. Nina Bandelj is Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine and the President of the Sociological Research Association. Her articles have been published in top discipline and specialty journals such as the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Theory and Society, and Socio-Economic Review. She has published various books, including Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting (Princeton University Press, forthcoming), Money Talks: Explaining How Money Really Works (Princeton University Press, 2017) coauthored with Frederick Wherry and Viviana Zelizer), and Socialism Vanquished, Socialism Challenged: Eastern Europe and China, 1989-2009 (Oxford university Press, 2012) coedited with Dorothy Solinger.**This lecture was recorded October 22, 2023 at the second annual Markets & Society conference.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Chris Coyne and Peter Boettke explore the life and legacy of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, Boettke's former professor and mentor. Boettke recalls his experiences in Boulding's Great Books in Economics course and their conversations outside of class about peace, economics, and poetry. The conversation outlines Boulding’s path from studying chemistry at Oxford and an unusually early publication in the Economic Journal to his formative time in Chicago with Frank Knight and his later academic years. Coyne and Boettke discuss why no “Boulding school” emerged, how Boulding's ideas can and are still inspiring new research on institutions, civil society, and peace, and more.This is the first episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics. Dr. Peter J. Boettke is Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He has published numerous books, including The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress (Universidad Francisco Marroquín Press, 2025) coauthored with Rosolino Candela, The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (Cambridge University Press, 2024) coauthored with Rosolino Candela and Tegan Truitt, and The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center, 2021).Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding’s article, “After Samuelson, Who needs Smith?” (History of Political Economy, 1971)James Buchanan’s article, “What Should Economists Do?” (SEJ, 1964)Frank Knight’s article, “The Theory of Investment Once More: Mr. Boulding and the Austrians” (QJE, 1935)Kenneth Boulding’s book, The Image (University of Michigan Press, 1969)Kenneth Boulding's AEA address, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)Kenneth Boulding’s book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding’s book, Three Faces of Power (SAGE Publications, 1990)Albert Hirschman’s book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Harvard University Press, 1972)Raghuram Rajan’s book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2020)Center for Research on Conflict ResolutionJournal of Conflict Resolution**This episode was recorded September 10, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Chandran Kukathas delivers a lecture at the Mercatus Center on capitalism, human nature, and the meaning of life. Kukathas argues that capitalism is less a fixed system than a constantly evolving set of rules and relationships, shaped by our restless desire to transform the world. He shows how politics, rent-seeking, and shifting definitions of capital are woven into its fabric, making it impossible to separate “pure markets” from the social and political contexts in which they operate. Kukathas challenges both critics and defenders who treat capitalism as the source of every social ill or success, urging instead a sober recognition of human limits, the diversity of our ends, and the case for modest, freedom-preserving reforms.Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society (Routledge, 2025) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).Show Notes:Thomas Hobbes’ book, LeviathanG.A. Cohen’s book, Why Not Socialism?Elijah Millgram’s book, The Great EndarkmentAlasdair MacIntyre’s book, After Virtue**This lecture was recorded August 13, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Nathan Goodman is joined by Michael Clemens to discuss why immigration policy matters not just for migrants themselves but for broader economic growth. Drawing on his influential work, including “Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?” (JEP, 2011) and “The Place Premium: Bounding the Price Equivalent of Migration Barriers” (REStat, 2019), Clemens explains how even modest liberalization of migration can create enormous gains, why exchange is positive-sum, and how complementary skills across the workforce drive production. Together they assess the claim that immigration undermines culture and institutions and revisit historical panics ranging from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Dillingham Commission. Dr. Michael Clemens is a professor in the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He helped build the research program on international migration at the Center for Global Development. Show Notes: Samuel Bazzi, et al., “The Confederate Diaspora” (NBER, 2025) Timur Kuran’s book, Freedoms Delayed: Political Legacies of Islamic Law in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2023) Chloe N. East, et al., “The Labor Market Effects of Immigration Enforcement” (Journal of Labor Economics, 2023)Mexican Migration projectIf you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with political theorist Chandran Kukathas on his latest book, Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society(Routledge, 2025), which addresses the most important ethical and political questions about immigration and aims to teach by questioning rather than preaching. He urges conceptual clarity about terms like “civilization,” “state,” and “immigration,” and argues that framing debates strictly as “justice” disputes is unhelpful amid deep moral disagreement. Building on his book, Immigration and Freedom, he warns that immigration control often curtails citizens’ freedoms and highlights how restrictive policies can create a hostile climate toward migrants even where overall public support for immigration remains strong.Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Immigration and Freedom (Princeton University Press, 2021) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).Show Notes:F.A. Hayek’s book, New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and the History of IdeasF.A. Hayek’s book, Law, Legislation, and Liberty: Volume 19John Rawls’ book, A Theory of JusticeMilton and Rose Friedman’s book, Free to ChooseFree To Choose: The Original 1980 TV SeriesDavid Schmidtz’s book, Elements of JusticeStephen Macedo’s book, Liberal VirtuesMichael Clemens’ paper, “Why Don't Remittances Appear to Affect Growth?” (The Economic Journal, 2018)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Nathan Goodman interviews sociologist Timothy Dunn on the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and its consequences for human rights. Dunn discusses how U.S. border militarization grew out of the Cold War era “low intensity conflict” doctrine and was expanded by both parties through the 1990s strategy of “prevention through deterrence.” While this policy reduced crossings in urban areas like El Paso and San Diego, it pushed migrants into deserts and mountains, ultimately contributing to thousands of migrant deaths. Dunn explains how U.S. military training and interventions in Central America fueled violence and migration, how financial institutions and drug war policies have perpetuated instability, how political entrepreneurs use crisis narratives to expand coercive power, and how programs like Operation Lone Star model a new wave of militarized enforcement. He calls for more humane immigration reforms grounded in human rights, economic realities, and the everyday resilience of immigrant communities.Dr. Timothy J. Dunn is a Professor of Sociology at Salisbury University in Maryland. He is the author of Blockading the Border and Human Rights: The El Paso Operation that Remade Immigration Enforcement (University of Texas Press, 2009) and The Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1978-1992: Low-Intensity Conflict Doctrine Comes Home (University of Texas Press, 1996).Show Notes:Handbook on Human Security, Borders and Migration (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021) edited by Natalia Ribas-Mateos and Timothy DunnTodd Miller’s book, Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the US Border around the WorldJason De León’s book, The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant TrailGary Becker’s article, "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (Journal of Political Economy, 1968)Mexican Migration ProjectMacArthur Fellowship Recipient: Kelly Lytle HernándezNo More Deaths / No Más MuertesCoalición de Derechos HumanosCoalition for Humane Immigrant RightsACLU | Immigrants’ RightsIf you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Nathan Goodman interviews political theorist Jacob Levy about the rule of law and its tensions with modern immigration enforcement. Drawing on his 2018 article, “The rule of law and the risks of lawlessness,” Levy explains that the rule of law requires laws to be general, predictable, and applied equally. Referencing thinkers like Montesquieu, Fuller, Hayek, Oakeshott, and Shklar, Levy argues that immigration control often violates these principles, especially when it involves militarized policing, extrajudicial punishment, and fear-based governance, which ultimately threatens both civil liberties and democratic institutions.Dr. Jacob T. Levy is Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory and associated faculty in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University. He is the coordinator of McGill’s Research Group on Constitutional Studies and was the founding director of McGill’s Yan P. Lin Centre for the Study of Freedom and Global Orders in the Ancient and Modern Worlds. He is a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. He is the author of The Multiculturalism of Fear (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2014).If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with Mark Pennington on Mark's latest book, Foucault and Liberal Political Economy: Power, Knowledge, and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2025). Pennington argues that Foucault's ideas on self-creation, disciplinary power, and biopolitics align with key liberal concerns about social control and individual agency. He critiques how both liberals and Foucauldian critics have misunderstood or ignored these connections, and drawing on thinkers like Hayek, Buchanan, and Ostrom, he calls for a liberalism that emphasizes pluralism, resists technocratic overreach, and engages more deeply with the insights of the humanities.Dr. Mark Pennington is Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Pennington is currently director of the Centre for the Study of Governance and Society.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Nathan Goodman speaks with Abby Hall on the "boomerang effect," where U.S. military tools and tactics used abroad—like drones—are repurposed for domestic border enforcement. Hall discusses how restrictive immigration policies, such as the Secure Fence Act and Operation Streamline, often lead to unintended consequences like increased migrant deaths and overwhelmed asylum systems. She advocates for more open immigration pathways to improve both humanitarian outcomes and resource allocation. The conversation also highlights how past U.S. interventions in Latin America have contributed to current migration patterns and emphasizes the importance of humility and flexibility in policy research.Dr. Abigail R. Hall is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa and a Senior Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She has published numerous books, including her most recent satirical book, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite co-authored with Christopher J. Coyne (2024). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship.Show Notes:Hall's article, "Border Fencing, Migrant Flows, and Crossing Deaths"Hall's article, "The Unintended Consequences of U.S. Asylum Policy"If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Nathan Goodman chats with economist Ben Powell about common myths surrounding mass immigration, including fears of job loss, wage suppression, and fiscal burdens. Drawing from his book, Wretched Refuse?: The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions, Powell presents cross-country evidence showing that immigration does not undermine culture, institutions, or productivity. Instead, it often correlates with improvements in economic freedom and institutional quality. He also highlights the importance of focusing on targeted policy solutions rather than broad restrictions.Dr. Benjamin Powell is the Executive Director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University, a Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, and a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute. He is the Secretary-Treasurer of both the Southern Economic Association and the Association of Private Enterprise Education and the Treasurer of the Mont Pelerin Society.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Stefanie Haeffele chats with Abigail Hall on her latest book, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite, which provides a satirical instruction manual for warfare. They discuss the various methods and approaches to bringing academic work to a broader audience, highlight the need for humility in providing commentary, emphasize the importance of Abigail’s research in the increasingly militarized modern world and the role of satire in critiquing and resisting abuses of power, and more.Dr. Abigail R. Hall is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa and a Senior Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She has published numerous books, including her most recent satirical book, How to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite co-authored with Christopher J. Coyne (2024). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and is an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Her research focuses on U.S. defense policy and militarism.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Erwin Dekker chats with Director Tomasz Agencki on the making of "Notes on the Margin" (2024), a full length documentary on the life and legacy of Carl Menger, founder of Austrian economics. Despite limited archival material and conflicting accounts, Agencki crafts a visually rich story highlighting Menger’s intellectual journey and reformist spirit.Tomasz Agencki is a freedom-focused movie maker who travels around the world to cooperate with like-minded creators. Agencki has over 15 years of experience in film and tv production, directs and films many of his own documentaries, and is a professional audiobook voice artist. Watch Agencki's “How Sweden Quit Smoking” (2024) or find his other works here.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke reflects on the lessons he’s learned throughout his academic career, focusing on what it takes to succeed after graduate school. Boettke encourages graduates to: value the scientific pursuit of truth and scholarship; cultivate a sense of awe, wonderment, surprise, and appreciation; and to be curious. He cautions against prioritizing cleverness over clarity and emphasizes the need to continually adapt and adjust. Persistence and hard work pays off. Try to pursue ideas, not people. Don’t be inept and don’t be lazy. Pay attention to details. Be a productive member of your department. Produce research that is genuinely interesting and of intrinsic value to your academic peers. Try to be a life changing professor. Work with good people who challenge you and find that network which insists on lifelong learning, one where you can harshly criticize one another then go have a beer together. Boettke highlights the ongoing work of the liberal project, arguing that liberalism is not a fixed doctrine, it’s an emancipatory project. Liberalism begins with a very strong recognition of oppression, but it brings a promise of deliverance. Because language and problems change over time, liberalism must be restated in the language and concepts of successive generations. He argues that the worst thing that can happen to a good cause is not to be artfully criticized, but to be ineptly defended.Peter Boettke is a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has published numerous books including The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (2024), Money and the Rule of Law: Generality and Predictability in Monetary Institutions (2021), Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (2012), and Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development: The Bloomington School (2009).If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Margaret Levi delivers a keynote lecture at the 2024 Markets & Society conference, exploring her latest research on political equality and arguing that it has been poorly conceptualized and measured in comparison to economic equality. She frames political equality around three dimensions: participation, representation, and responsiveness, emphasizing that it is relational and rooted in social interactions and is not merely a matter of resource distribution. Levi highlights new empirical tools for better assessing political equality, including surveys on empowerment, studies of social capital, and network analysis.Margaret Levi is Professor Emerita of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law (CDDRL) at the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) at Stanford University. Levi is currently a faculty fellow at CASBS and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, co-director of the Stanford Ethics, Society and Technology Hub, and the Jere L. Bacharach Professor Emerita of International Studies at the University of Washington.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode, Jessica Carges chats with Karol Boudreaux on female land and resource rights in Sub-Saharan Africa and their impact on economic development. Karol discusses how even when property rights are granted, formal documentation and cultural backgrounds pose challenges to control over land use, and she shares the success story of Rwanda, how the state undertook a massive land documentation effort to improve formal property rights.Karol Boudreaux has a JD in International Law from the University of Virginia, and her work over the past two decades has focused on efforts to support improvements to land tenure and property rights for people around the world, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa. During her time at the Mercatus Center, she was the lead researcher for the Enterprise Africa project. She focuses on understanding links between property rights systems and development, as well as the evolution of property systems.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Nava Ashraf delivers a keynote lecture at the 2024 Markets & Society conference, exploring the role of trust and institutions and focusing on female entrepreneurship in developing countries, particularly Zambia. Ashraf argues that trust, institutional fairness, and negotiation skills matter for gender equity and economic development.Nava Ashraf is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she is also the Co-Director of the STICERD Psychology and Economics Programme.Her research combines psychology and economics using both lab and field experiments to test insights from behavioral economics in the context of global development, particularly digging into health and educational services. Ashraf explores intrahousehold decision-making and gender norms in the areas of finance, fertility, and labor force participation. Her work examines thorny questions like the role of trust and power dynamics in institutions, how flourishing takes place, and the importance of imagination and creativity in human flourishing. If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, a podcast series from the Hayek Program, is streaming. Subscribe today and listen to season three, releasing now!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium