Center for the Study of Economic Liberty

Is the Economy Illegible?

Is successful management of a local, regional, national, or global economy simply a matter of having “more data”? No: what we call “the economy” is a product of knowledge dispersed among many minds that cannot confront planners and managers as data. F.A. Hayek wrote that “it is the curious task of economics to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design,” and in the language of the late political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott, the economy is illegible. It functions according to tacit knowledge that may be impossible to articulate verbally or numerically and that, therefore, is inaccessible to planners and managers. The economy’s illegibility is why efforts to simplify, codify, and control it often backfire. The social problem is of a kind that no individual mind or group of minds—no matter how great—can solve independent of the mundane give, take, and trade of day-to-day life.

Art Carden, Samford University, joins us Thursday, April 24, 2025 at noon AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register at specialevents.asu.edu/illegibleeconomy


This event is supported by a gift from The Bradley Foundation through the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

The Conservative Environmentalist: A Pragmatic Approach to Environmental Stewardship

ASU is hosting Benji Backer, author and CEO of Nature is Nonpartisan, for a fireside chat discussing his work in advancing the environmental conversation in a way that transcends political boundaries.

Backer is the Founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan. He serves as the Executive Chairman of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), the country's largest conservative environmental organization, which he founded during his freshman year of college. A best-selling author of The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future, Backer has been named a NYTimes Changemaker, and awarded the Fortune 40 Under 40, Forbes 30 Under 30, GreenBiz 30 Under 30, and Grist 50.

Benji Backer joins us Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 2:30 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register at na.eventscloud.com/benji.backer


This event is co-hosted by the College of Global Futures and Center for the Study of Economic Liberty.

The Five Pillars of Economic Prosperity

Don’t miss this chance to hear from Dr. Arthur Laffer, the "Father of Supply-Side Economics" and advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. Dr. Laffer will break down the Five Pillars of Economic Prosperity and make the case for economic freedom in a way that’s engaging, informative, and easy to understand:

Low Rate, Broad-Based Flat Tax
Spending Restraints
Sound Money
Free Trade
Minimal Regulations

This is a unique opportunity to learn from one of the most revolutionary and influential economic thinkers of our time. Whether you're passionate about economics, curious about policy, or simply want to gain fresh insights into what drives prosperity, this event cannot be missed!

Arthur B. Laffer joins us Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register at specialevents.asu.edu/fivepillars


This event is in partnership with Young America's Foundation and is supported by a gift from The Bradley Foundation through School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

From Deference to Respect: The Rise and Fall of Chevron Deference with Jonathan H. Adler

For forty years, federal courts were instructed to defer to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous statutory provisions. No longer. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimando, decided this past June, the Supreme Court held that so-called “Chevron deference” forced judges to violate their obligation to decide questions of law, promoted legal instability, and made it too easy for federal agencies to aggrandize their own power. Under this decision, federal courts are required to give “Due respect” to agency experience and expertise, but are not required to defer to agency opinions. Loper Bright is one of several recent Supreme Court decisions that constrain federal regulatory agencies, but it would be an exaggeration to claim Loper Bright threatens the administrative state. The shift from deference to respect is less a revolution than a modest course correction. Ultimate responsibility for taming the administrative state belongs to Congress.

Jonathan H. Adler joins us, from Case Western Reserve University , Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register at specialevents.asu.edu/fromdeferencetorespect

Hayek's Nobel: 50 Years Later

In 1974 Friedrich A. Hayek was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with the Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that occasion. In his talk, Bruce Caldwell will offer a few vignettes meant to place the event in the context of the times. He will examine Hayek’s life before he got the prize, describe what took place in Stockholm, and offer a summary of the main themes of his Prize Lecture, noting the continuing importance of its main themes. He will close by noting the reception of his address, both at the time and later, and the subsequent impact of the award on Hayek’s life and career.

Bruce Caldwell joins us, from Duke University, Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register now: specialevents.asu.edu/hayeksnobel

Islam, Markets and Freedom

Today, the Muslim world, a large part of the globe stretching from Morocco to Indonesia, is far from being the leading civilization in science and technology, or in political freedom and human rights. But that was exactly what it was a thousand years ago, when the medieval Islamic civilization was the home to the world’s greatest libraries, philosophers, inventors. It also offered more freedom than most of its contemporaries, including Christendom, which is why it attracted persecuted minorities such as Jews.

Mustafa Akyol calls this past era the medieval Islamic Enlightenment, and traces its roots to intellectual and economic openness: Muslims were open to discussing all ideas, including Greek philosophy, and they were open to free trade, the very profession of the Prophet Muhammad. Hence they were able to develop a robust Islamic capitalism, which had little-known impacts on Europe, but fatefully declined later in Islam itself.

It is a history which offers lessons for the future: To revitalize their civilization, what Muslims need is more openness to new ideas, and more openness to free markets.

Mustafa Akyol joins us, from The Cato Institute , Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register now at specialevents.asu.edu/islammarketsfreedom.

Taxes Have Consequences

Since the United States adopted the income tax in 1913, the relationship between this tax and the fate of the economy has been clear. When tax rates have gone up, the rich have gotten less rich; they have sheltered their incomes from taxation; and the economy has faltered. The reverse has happened when tax rates have gone down: the rich have gotten richer as they sheltered less and the economy improved. The Laffer curve — proposing that a tax-rate cut can lose revenue — has been a mainstay in American economic accounts at the top echelons of income for the entire history of the income tax.

Join Brian Domitrovic, from the Laffer Center, Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register now at specialevents.asu.edu/taxeshaveconsequences.

Arizona State University (ASU - Tempe) seeks applications for a one-year postdoctoral research scholar in Economic Thought, located in the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty (CSEL) and the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL). This position has an anticipated start of July 1, 2024.

Relevant fields include History of Economic Thought; Philosophy, Politics and Economics; and Constitutional Political Economy. The person hired would also have the opportunity to be involved in research related to CSEL’s Doing Business project, examining business regulations across the life-cycle of business (dbna.asu.edu).

Description: The ideal candidate will develop their own research, in addition to contributing to ongoing research of faculty mentor(s) within CSEL and SCETL. The postdoc may also have opportunities to teach in SCETL. Possible research topics include: history of economic thought; philosophy, politics and economics; and constitutional political economy. Strong writing skills, an ongoing independent research agenda and a record of presenting at national and international conferences are strongly desired. We anticipate that the postdoc will be an active participant in workshops, conferences and events at CSEL and SCETL.

This is a full time (1.0), non-tenure-track, benefits-eligible, fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) position for one-year with the potential for renewal based on funding and performance.

Salary is $70,000.

Application Deadline and Procedure: The application deadline is March 16, 2024; if not filled, review will continue every two weeks thereafter until search is closed. Applications will be accepted through Interfolio, at: apply.interfolio.com/140231

Apply - Interfolio

Black Liberation Through the Marketplace

If we face America’s racial history squarely, will it mean that the American project is a failure? Conversely, if we think the American project is a worthy endeavor, do we have to lie, downplay, or equivocate about our past?

In this book, we use the classical liberal lens to ask Americans on the political right to seriously reckon with America’s deep racial pain — much of which arises from violations of rights that conservatives say they deeply value, such as property rights, freedom of contract and the protection of the rule of law. We ask those on the left to take a hard look at the failed paternalism, and in some cases, thoroughgoing racism of past progressive policy. All Americans are asked to apply their concern for individual rights and constitutional order fairly to our historical record. What readers will find are deep injustices against black Americans. But they will also find black entrepreneurs overcoming amazing obstacles and a black community that has created flourishing institutions and culture.

Exhausted by extremism on both left and right, a majority of Americans — black and white — love this country and want to do right by all of its citizens. In Black Liberation Through the Marketplace, readers will come away with a better understanding of black history and creative ideas for how to make this nation truly one with liberty and justice for all.

Join Rachel Ferguson, from Concordia University Chicago, TODAY, Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 5 p.m. AZ MST on the ASU Tempe campus.

Registration required. Register now at specialevents.asu.edu/blackliberation

Tamales and Economic Liberty

A record 1.2 million minority-owned businesses are operating in the U.S. Succeeding as an entrepreneur is tough, 20% fail in the first year, but minorities have an even steeper hill to climb. Income inequality, limited access to loans, and other biases leads to a lack of capital needed to start businesses and survive the early years in the red. A recent study shows that Arizona is the No. 32 best state for minority entrepreneurs to succeed with minorities owning 15.6% of all Arizona businesses and 18.2% of startups under two years old.

The holiday season is filled with food traditions and the Mexican tamale is a regional favorite in Arizona. Rich in tradition, tamales evoke family, ritual and cherished memories in most Hispanic cultures. While eaten year-round, tamales are truly celebrated during the holiday season when families come together to make huge batches of them to share or exchange. This part of Mexican culture has also turned some migrant families into entrepreneurs.

In 2023, the Arizona State Legislature passed HB2509 with bipartisan support. The bill, dubbed the "tamale bill", would have relaxed the rules around food products Arizonans can make in their own kitchens to sell. The bill was ultimately vetoed by Governor Hobbs in April.

While the tamale bill was just one way to remove barriers for entrepreneurs in Arizona, Elvia Díaz — Editorial Page Editor at the Arizona Republic — will sit down with Rep. Alma Hernandez and Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham to discuss how we can create avenues to opportunity for the Arizona Hispanic community and improve the climate for minority entrepreneurship in Arizona.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023
5–6:30 p.m. AZ MST
Memorial Union 230, Pima Auditorium

Register now: specialevents.asu.edu/tamales

The Avenues to Opportunity (A2O) Conference is just six weeks away. Take advantage of our discounted rates before it's too late!

Early bird rates end Friday, October 20.

Rooted on the idea of our Doing Business North America (DBNA) report, the A2O Conference is a one-day policy conference focusing on how to remove the barriers entrepreneurs face and provide a context for thinking about policy reform to advance human betterment and contribute to the understanding of which regulatory environments can produce the best economic outcomes for the largest number of people.

Register now: specialevents.asu.edu/a2o.