Exploring Economic Freedom Project

🎯 Don't miss this incredible opportunity!

Join us on September 23rd at 12:30-1:45pm in Tivoli Turnhalle as we welcome Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, to MSU Denver!

📈 "The Importance of Freedom and Free Enterprise in America" promises to be an engaging discussion on the forces that drive prosperity in our nation.

Whether you're a student, entrepreneur, or simply curious about economic freedom, this event is for you!

Steve Forbes brings decades of experience in business journalism, authorship, and public service to share his insights on markets, liberty, and human flourishing.

Thank you to our partners at Young America's Foundation for making this event possible through the Exploring Economic Freedom Project.

Register now - https://www.msudenver.edu/alumni/events/econ-economic-freedom-lecture-series/?bbeml=tp-dbDuRwL8AUG2OvopB-uanw.jsAcnO-NLJkCWIlSa5v_aSA.rCFaTm9pz-EiDKK-lHP82xQ.lXtAepRdPVUuO9GH1f496Ug

Exploring Economic Freedom Lecture Series - MSU Denver MSU Denver's Department of Economics, in partnership with Young America's Foundation, will host Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, for our Exploring Economic Freedom Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, from 12:30-1:45 PM in the Tivoli Turnhalle.

Congratulations to Gavin, one of our most outstanding alumni on winning this prestigious award! Winning the Gordon Tullock prize is no small feat.

Bastiat and Visiting Dissertation Alum Gavin Roberts won the prize with Rik Chakraborti for their paper "How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation.”

This prize is awarded to the best paper published in Public Choice contributed by a younger scholar or scholars.

Assistant Professor of Economics Glenn Furton was on the Jimmy Sengenberger show to provide a political economy perspective on the banking system and the homeless crisis, particularly in Denver.

Jimmy Sengenberger Show 8-12-2023 Hr 2 - Jimmy Sengenberger Show During this second hour of the show, Jimmy welcomes guest Glenn Furton, Assistant Professor of Econ at MSU.

On International Women's Day, March 8th, the Economics Department at MSU Denver and Exploring Economic Freedom Project had the pleasure to host Dr. Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, Founder and President of the Women's Institute for Science, Equity, and Race to talk about the importance of disaggregating data to develop effective public policy:

Exploring Economic Freedom Project Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe

The MSU Denver's Economics Department Exploring Economic Freedom Project welcomed on March 6th Professor Rosemarie Fike to talk about Economic Freedom and Women's Well-Being to celebrate Women History Month and International Women's Week:

Exploring Economic Freedom Project Rosemarie Fike

n Monday, March 6th, the Exploring Economic Freedom Project, an initiative from MSU Denver Economics Department, was honored to host Dr. Rosemarie Fike to talk about Economic Freedom and Women's Wellbeing. Dr. Rosemarie Fike who is a Lecturer at Texas Christian University is the author of the Fraser Institute's Women and Progress report. She is also the host of the Fraser Institute's Women, Economic Progress, and Markets podcast in which she has conversations with renowned female economists and thinkers and explores the ways in which economic progress has historically affected women’s well-being, and whether markets and individual rights are consistent with feminist goals.

Exploring Economic Freedom Project Rosemarie Fike

During Women International’s Week, the Economics Department and Exploring Economic Freedom Project will be hosting two events discussing Economic/Public Policy to Improve Women’s Well-Being.

These events will also be streamed live (https://msudenver.yuja.com/LiveStream/I/60/385014296) and recorded.

The first event will take place on Monday, March 6th from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm in Jordan Student Success Building (890 Auraria Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204
), Board Room 400, the Exploring Economic Freedom Project and MSU Denver Economics Department are very excited to welcome Dr. Rosemarie Fike who is a Lecturer in Economics at Texas Christian University and a Research Fellow at Fraser Institute.

In her talk “Economic Freedom & Women’s Well-Being,” Professor Fike asks whether markets are forces of oppression for women, or do they provide women with an important means through which they might be able to improve their lives? In her presentation she explores this important question by examining the empirical relationship between economic freedom and a variety of measures of women’s wellbeing. She will also discuss how economic freedom is measured, highlight some of the legal barriers to exercising economic freedom that only apply to women in many parts of the world, and think about the economic implications of limiting the scope of women’s’ participation in the market.

Dr. Rosemarie Fike is an Instructor of Economics at Texas Christian University and a Research Fellow at the Fraser Institute. She received her Ph.D. in Economics at Florida State University. Her research seeks to understand how economic institutions impact women’s wellbeing. She is an annual contributor to the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World Index, and the author of the Women and Progress Report.

Alexandre Padilla, Professor, Chair of MSU Denver Economics Department, and Director of the Exploring Economic Freedom Project, was invited along with Political Scientist Bolivar Lamounier (the founder and first president-director of the Institute of Economic, Social and Political Studies of São Paulo (IDESP) to discuss the nature, causes, and consequences of populism in Latin America at the VI Freedom Forum organized by the Center of Economic Freedom at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, Brazil on November 8th, 2022.

Como o populismo vira política e se perpetua no poder | Bolívar Lamounier e Alexandre Padilla O que você vai encontrar nesse debate:0:00 - Abertura1:06 – O que é populismo? 7:26 – Como o populismo se manisfesta, como ocorre e como chega a prevalecer, ...

MSU Denver Economics Department has its own page and Instagram account MSU Denver Economics Department! Follow us! We will post weekly announcements on events, publications from faculty, awards, media interviews, feature some outstanding alumni, outstanding students, etc.

The recording of Bryan Caplan's talk about his forthcoming non-fiction graphic novel "Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation" is now available on MSU Denver Economics Department's The Exploring Economic Freedom Project page and its YouTube Channel. Check it out!

Bryan Caplan on Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation Bryan Caplan asks: Why do housing costs keep rising, especially in the country's most desirable locations? As he shows us, it is because housing regulations ...