F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics

05/29/2026

Today, having just completed her PhD with dissertation research on Sundown Towns, examining how historical exclusion shaped long-term economic trajectories, Olivia credits the Bastiat Fellowship, particularly its research sequences, with helping her discover what kind of scholar she wanted to be.

Bastiat Alum Olivia Galloway shares her Mercatus Fellowship Story.
https://loom.ly/PqOiwN8

05/29/2026

Applications due tomorrow for the Fall 2026 Undergraduate Scholars Program or the 2026-2027 Graduate Scholars Program!

These competitive programs are open to George Mason University students of all disciplines who are interested in political economy. Throughout the program term, fellows read foundational and contemporary works in political economy and participate in regular discussion with other fellows, Mason faculty, and Hayek Program Scholars.

Apply Now!
🔗 https://www.mercatus.org/students/fellowships

05/28/2026

After 250 years, why still read Adam Smith?

Kenneth Boulding answers this precise question in his article, "After Samuelson, Who Needs Adam Smith?" He argues that Smith is not just a historical figure, but part of our extended present. The questions Smith raised about development, institutions, jurisprudence, and the moral foundations of markets are still live questions.

As Boulding notes: "One can still go back to Adam Smith even after many rereadings and find insights which one has never noticed before and which may have a marked impact on one's own thought. [...] The principle seems to me pretty clear that as long as intellectual evolutionary potential remains yet undeveloped in the early writers, the modern writers are a complement rather than a substitute; that is, we need both Samuelson and Adam Smith."

For more on this topic, check out:
🔗 Kenneth Boulding's article, "After Samuelson, Who Needs Adam Smith?" https://loom.ly/sYjqfIo
🔗 Peter Boettke's article, "Kenneth Boulding as an enchanting, encouraging and engaging professor" https://loom.ly/wu780bo

05/27/2026

Introducing the first episode of our new series: The Hayekian Triangle 🔺

On this episode, our hosts, Virgil Storr, Chris Coyne, and Peter Boettke explore the continuing relevance of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.

Together, they dig into what Smith actually said, why the standard takes on laissez-faire and self-interest so often miss the mark, and what a Scottish moral philosopher writing in 1776 still has to teach us about wealth, poverty, and the institutions that make human flourishing possible.

🎧 Tune in to the Hayek Program Podcast: https://loom.ly/MHEHcQM

05/26/2026

On this episode, Mario Rizzo delivers a lecture exploring rationality after behavioral economics.

🎧 Tune in to the Hayek Program Podcast

In a world of uncertainty, how does a hierarchical application of rules facilitate decision making?

05/25/2026

What drives political change?

Desiree A. Desierto and Mark Koyama argue that reform often depends on organized groups linking elites and citizens, drawing on the Glorious Revolution, the People Power Revolution in the Philippines, and the Arab Spring.

We propose a model to understand how civil society affects political reform. A member of civil society who is a political actor can defect to the opposition and directly erode the ruler’s power. An ordinary citizen, however, can only indirectly depose the ruler through popular discontent, generati...

05/23/2026

Mercatus PhD Fellow and JIN Fellow Brigitta Jones has been selected by the George Mason University Department of Economics as the Spring 2026 Outstanding Graduating Student!

Outstanding Graduating Students are nominated by their departments in recognition of their exceptional academic achievements and contributions to their fields. Congratulations, Brigitta!

05/22/2026

Today, as Executive Director of Young Voices now an independent nonprofit reaching over 90 million people annually with classical liberal ideas, Casey credits those early Bastiat experiences with teaching him how to weave policy narratives and connect with a network that has sustained his work for a decade.

Bastiat Alum Casey Given shares his Mercatus Fellowship Story.
https://loom.ly/UQDEct0

05/22/2026

Apply now for the Fall 2026 Undergraduate Scholars Program or the 2026-2027 Graduate Scholars Program!

These competitive programs are open to George Mason University students of all disciplines who are interested in political economy. Throughout the program term, fellows read foundational and contemporary works in political economy and participate in regular discussion with other fellows, Mason faculty, and Hayek Program Scholars.

Click the links below.
Undergraduate: https://www.mercatus.org/students/undergraduate-scholars-program
Graduate: https://www.mercatus.org/students/graduate-scholars-program

05/21/2026

In the first-ever English translation of Carl Menger's 1891 essay in the Neue Freie Presse, Erwin Dekker and Stefan Kolev contextualize Menger's defense of Adam Smith and classical political economy.

"Menger argues that there is a fundamental similarity between the classical economists, himself, and the Social-Politiker of his time. That is why he argues that Smith and his disciples could well be described as the Social-Politiker of their age, and why he extols their accomplishments in the policy arena, especially their success in breaking down privileges. But from these shared goals, this shared purpose, quite different social policies could result, based on differing economic theories."

Read the article here: https://loom.ly/jggy75w

This is the first-ever English translation of an 1891 essay by Carl Menger published in the most important newspaper of the Habsburg Empire, the Neue …