Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom

Opinion | Fight Wokeness With Small Government Even when it sides with the right, big government suppresses both freedom and economic growth.

Crafting a Narrative: [SMU Alumna] Tamara Winter on the Power of Excellence and Storytelling

Crafting a Narrative: Tamara Winter on the Power of Excellence and Storytelling Tamara Winter is the Commissioning Editor at Stripe Press, the publishing imprint of Stripe, and a board member of the Institute for Progress and the Foundat...

We’re getting official in the new SMU Cox buildings.

Bridwell Institute director Robert Lawson has a new op-ed with Alex Tabarrok.

We’re Looking at Inequality All Wrong. Just Ask the NFL. Sports inequality can teach us a lot about what inequality statistics mean, write Robert Lawson and Alex Tabarrok.

Bridwell Institute director Robert Lawson talking about economic freedom in Argentina.

Regulation and Economic Liberty In this thought-provoking session titled "Regulation and Economic Liberty," Robert Lawson (Southern Methodist University and Lead Author of Economic Freedom ...

What's the best way to promote women's opportunities: mandates, or economic freedom? Meg Tuszynski discusses all of this & more on the latest episode of the Let the People Prosper show.
Also available on your favorite podcast feed.

Economic Freedom Empowers Women’s Careers with Dr. Meg Tuszynski | Let People Prosper Show Ep. 106 Join me for Episode 106 of the Let People Prosper Show to learn about the importance of economic freedom and what it means for women and men with Dr. Meg Tus...

SMU has Arrived 🐎 SMU x ACC ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribeSMUPony up:https://SMU.eduhttps://Instagram.com/SMUdallashttps://Facebook.com/SMUdallashttps://Twitter.com/SMU #...

You Cannot Have Political Freedom without Economic Freedom

You Cannot Have Political Freedom without Economic Freedom If you read degrowth advocates, many of the policies they advocate for will say something along the lines of “democratizing” various institutions. Furthermore, if you listen to the rhetoric from many progressives (whether they are directly de-growthers or not), they stress the importance of basi...

A recent Wallet Hub study ranked the Dallas-Ft. Worth area 2nd among 23 large metro areas for “biggest inflation problems,” behind only Detroit. Our Dean Stansel was quoted in a CBS News story on that study, noting that DFW’s nation-leading population growth and substantial housing supply restrictions are driving up housing prices here--inflation in Houston, where housing restrictions are fewer, has been much lower--and that in the other hardest-hit areas minimum wage hikes are likely driving food prices higher.

These 5 U.S. cities have been hit hardest by inflation A housing shortage in Texas and minimum wage increases elsewhere are fueling higher than average inflation in some cities.

Our Dean Stansel received the 2024 Research Impact Award at the Mid-Continent Regional Science Association conference in Cleveland last Thursday for the Most Outstanding Article in the Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy. (Joshua Hall, journal editor and WVU College of Business & Economics Dean, on right.)

Dean Stansel. 2019. “Economic freedom in US metropolitan areas.” Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy, 49 (1): 40-48.
You can find the article here:
https://jrap.scholasticahq.com/article/8147-economic-freedom-in-u-s-metropolitan-areas

Bridwell Institute director Robert Lawson will be speaking on Tuesday at this Cato Institute conference in Buenos Aires. On Wednesday, Elon Musk’s and Javier Millei’s remarks will be streamed on X.

The Rebirth of Liberty in Argentina and Beyond The Cato Institute and the Argentina‐​based Libertad y Progreso think tank are pleased to announce a major conference that will bring together prominent classical liberals from around the world to propose ways to limit power, restore the rule of law, and safeguard individual liberty.

The great libertarian, Cato Executive Vice President David Boaz has passed. David was distantly related to Hiram Abiff Boaz, the first vice president and second president of SMU and namesake of Boaz Commons/Hall. 🙏

New research from our Dean Stansel (coauthored with Fengyu Wu), forthcoming in Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, finds that residents in states with higher economic freedom tend to have lower food insecurity. They also find some limited evidence that a higher minimum wage is associated with higher food insecurity. Their results contradict claims by some that policies that increase economic freedom are bad for the poor and claims that minimum wages improve the well-being of low-skilled workers.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm in “How DFW Achieved Data Center Dominance”

How DFW Achieved Data Center Dominance Corporate in-migration, an entrepreneurial culture, and a fast-growing market have propelled North Texas to the top in today’s data-rich economy.

“Chuck Norris vs Communism” is a documentary released in 2015 by Romanian director Ilinca Calugareanu.

The film's subject is far more serious than its title suggests:

How the Romanian people, under an authoritarian communist regime, smuggled and watched Western movies;

An unsung actress who dubbed all the movies (and every actor);

The reason why communist regimes fear action heroes like Rambo or Chuck Norris.

Let’s explore these themes.

Western movies were smuggled into Socialist Romania on cassette tapes. They were translated and immediately dubbed by voice actress Irina Nistor.

Irina voiced every character. Chuck Norris? Irina. Stallone? Irina. No matter who spoke, Irina was the voice behind it.

This might seem strange, but it didn’t deter the Romanians' eagerness to witness something they already suspected: life is better under Capitalism.

Paradoxically, watching Hollywood movies allowed Romanians, for the first time, to imagine how normal life could be.

In a country where food was strictly rationed, scenes in movies where Chuck Norris throws a man onto a table, scattering all the food, left Romanians astonished: how could there be so much food to waste?

However, the real threat these films posed to the Communist regime was their introduction of stories about individuals who controlled their own destinies and sought their own happiness.

The protagonists in these movies weren’t waiting for directives from the Communist Party or the state. They made their own decisions. They were free to pursue their own happiness. And they thought that was good!

“I lived this. When I heard Irina's voice in this trailer, tears came to my eyes. She was our window to the west.”

- An anonymous Romanian commenting on Youtube

Congratulation Tucker!

Congratulations to SMU Board of Trustees member, Cox Executive Board Chair and benefactor of the Cox School’s Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom Tucker Bridwell (BBA ’73, MBA ’74) on receiving one of the highest honors presented by the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE), the Herman W. Lay Memorial Award.

The award, named after entrepreneur turned snack food magnate Herman Lay, honors businesspeople who emulate Lay’s entrepreneurial success and philanthropy. APEE is an association of educators and scholars with a common interest in studying and better understanding the system of private enterprise.

Learn more about the Bridwell Institute: https://www.smu.edu/cox/centers-institutes/bridwell-institute?utm_source=Social_FB&utm_medium=Cox_Owned&utm_campaign=Alumni&utm_content=Achievement

Congratulations to SMU Board of Trustees member, Cox Executive Board Chair and benefactor of the Cox School’s Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom Tucker Bridwell (BBA ’73, MBA ’74) on receiving one of the highest honors presented by the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE), the Herman W. Lay Memorial Award.

The award, named after entrepreneur turned snack food magnate Herman Lay, honors businesspeople who emulate Lay’s entrepreneurial success and philanthropy. APEE is an association of educators and scholars with a common interest in studying and better understanding the system of private enterprise.

Learn more about the Bridwell Institute: https://www.smu.edu/cox/centers-institutes/bridwell-institute?utm_source=Social_FB&utm_medium=Cox_Owned&utm_campaign=Alumni&utm_content=Achievement

Congratulations Tucker!

Congratulations to SMU Board of Trustees member, Cox Executive Board Chair and benefactor of the Cox School’s Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom Tucker Bridwell (BBA ’73, MBA ’74) on receiving one of the highest honors presented by the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE), the Herman W. Lay Memorial Award.

The award, named after entrepreneur turned snack food magnate Herman Lay, honors businesspeople who emulate Lay’s entrepreneurial success and philanthropy. APEE is an association of educators and scholars with a common interest in studying and better understanding the system of private enterprise.

Learn more about the Bridwell Institute: https://www.smu.edu/cox/centers-institutes/bridwell-institute?utm_source=Social_FB&utm_medium=Cox_Owned&utm_campaign=Alumni&utm_content=Achievement

The Free Market Road Show is in Dallas tomorrow.

Free Market Road Show Please join us on March 28th to learn what is happening for the cause of free markets and economic liberty around the globe.

Rosemarie Fike, economist at TCU – Texas Christian University, Heather Gilker, founder and principal of Tokalon Advisors and Managing Director of Pickwick Capital Partners, and Anne Rathbone Bradley, the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and vice president of Academic Affairs at The Fund for American Studies (TFAS), discussed how differences in economic freedom influence women’s lives during an SMU Cox Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom event. The Institute, in partnership with The Policy Circle, hosted a panel discussion highlighting findings from a project that explored previously unasked questions on gender mandates, women’s progress and how economic freedom affects families. The event, organized and moderated by the Institute’s Managing Director and Research Assistant Professor Meg Tuszynski, was timed to coincide with Women’s History Month.



Learn more about the Bridwell Institute: https://www.smu.edu/cox/centers-and-institutes/bridwell-institute/about-us

Women & Economic Freedom: What Does the Research Say?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-economic-freedom-what-does-the-research-say-tickets-796308077897

https://t.e2ma.net/message/qrgdnl/mksicd

We are delighted to introduce PCS 2024's Friday plenary speaker: Nobel Laureate Roger Myerson. Join him on Friday 3/15 at 10am for "Local Politics in Nations and Empires."

Professor Myerson is at the University of Chicago. His work has centered on game theory and political institutions. His fundamental contributions in mechanism design and auction theory have been widely influential in the social sciences and national economic policy. He is a past President of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science with Leo Hurwicz and Eric Maskin. In his address at our Friday plenary session, Professor Myerson will discuss some of his recent and ongoing work in the area of state- building and the effects of various forms of social (de)centralization.

Meet our president of PCS 2024: Lynne Kiesling!

Join us at this year’s annual meetings for her Presidential Address and Awards on Saturday, 3/16 at 1:40-2:30pm.

Lynne Kiesling is an economist focusing on regulation, market design, and the economics of digitization and smart grid technologies in the electricity industry. She is Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics in the Center on Law, Business, and Economics, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability program, both at Northwestern University. She is also a Research Professor at University of Colorado Denver, a member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

How do differences in economic freedom influence women’s lives? The Cox School’s Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom , in partnership with The Policy Circle, will host a panel discussion highlighting findings from an extraordinary project examining the topic.

The Bridwell Institute’s Managing Director and Research Assistant Professor Meg Tuszynski, Rosie Fike, economist at TCU – Texas Christian University, and Anne Rathbone Bradley, the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and vice president of Academic Affairs at The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) will discuss findings from their studies that explore previously unasked questions on gender mandates and how economic freedom affects families.

All are welcome to attend this free event. Register today! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-economic-freedom-what-does-the-research-say-tickets-796308077897?aff=oddtdtcreator

The late, great economist Steve Horwitz originated the idea to do a Nobel Prize panel and we're so pleased to see that tradition live on at SMU. He would have turned 60 today.