Mercatus Center Academic & Student Programs

Mercatus Center Academic & Student Programs The Mercatus Center’s Academic & Student Programs supports students, through a variety of fellowship

For over 30 years, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University (previously the Center for the Study of Market Processes) has recruited, trained, and supported graduate students who have gone on to pursue careers in academia, government, and public policy as well as support scholars pursuing research on the cutting edge of academia. The Mercatus Center’s Academic & Student Programs provides supp

ort for scholars pursuing research in the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy and provides support for students at George Mason University as well as colleges and universities around the world. Mercatus student fellows have an opportunity to learn from and interact with an impressive collection of Mercatus faculty, affiliated scholars, and visitors. Past visiting scholars have included Nobel Laureates James Buchanan, Vernon Smith, Douglass North, and Elinor Ostrom, as well as eminent scholars such as Gordon Tullock, Ludwig Lachmann, Israel Kirzner, David Schmidtz, David Friedman, and Deirdre McCloskey.

Today, having just completed her PhD with dissertation research on Sundown Towns, examining how historical exclusion sha...
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

Applications due tomorrow for the Fall 2026 Undergraduate Scholars Program or the 2026-2027 Graduate Scholars Program!  ...
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://loom.ly/UUu1CTI

Introducing the first episode of our new series: The Hayekian Triangle 🔺On this episode, our hosts, Virgil Storr, Chris ...
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

Mercatus PhD Fellow and JIN Fellow Brigitta Jones has been selected by the George Mason University Department of Economi...
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!

Today, as Executive Director of Young Voices now an independent nonprofit reaching over 90 million people annually with ...
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

Apply now for the Fall 2026 Undergraduate Scholars Program or the 2026-2027 Graduate Scholars Program!  These competitiv...
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://loom.ly/1xHekYo
Graduate: https://loom.ly/1nPTlgk

Academic & Student Programs Undergraduate Scholars Program For undergraduate students at George Mason University who are interested in learning more about political economy.The Undergraduate Scholars program follows a rolling admissions policy, and applications will be evaluated monthly. Application...

05/20/2026

🌟 NEW SERIES ALERT from the Hayek Program Podcast! 🎙️✨

We’re excited to introduce The Hayekian Triangle 🔺 — conversations between Peter Boettke, Chris Coyne, & Virgil Storr on the ideas that shape free & prosperous societies

🎧 The first episode drops next Wednesday, May 27!

📚 The series begins with a discussion on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations — its enduring relevance and what it still teaches us today 🎉

🔗 Subscribe to the Hayek Program Podcast: https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast

On this episode, PhD Alum Solomon Stein chats with Roger Koppl about expertise, epistemics, and the future of Austrian e...
05/19/2026

On this episode, PhD Alum Solomon Stein chats with Roger Koppl about expertise, epistemics, and the future of Austrian economics.

🎧 Tune in to the Hayek Program podcast

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Professor Roger Koppl talks with Hayek Program Research Fellow Solomon Stein ab

When Priyanka Venkat arrived at George Mason University as an economics student, she brought a vague understanding of ma...
05/15/2026

When Priyanka Venkat arrived at George Mason University as an economics student, she brought a vague understanding of markets from high school. But studying at GMU introduced her to something different: Austrian economics, methodological individualism, and the idea that markets aren't abstract supply and demand curves, they're people making decisions.

Undergraduate Alum Priyanka Venkat shares her Mercatus Fellowship Story.

On this episode, PhD Alums Peter Boettke and Liya Palagashvili reflect on her journey from undergraduate student organiz...
05/13/2026

On this episode, PhD Alums Peter Boettke and Liya Palagashvili reflect on her journey from undergraduate student organizer to policy analyst and public intellectual. They talk about what it means to have a "startup mindset" and explore Liya's work on the gig economy.

🎧 Tune in to the Hayek Program Podcast

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke and Liya Palagashvili reflect on her journey from undergrad

On this episode, PhD Alum Rosolino Candela sits down with Douglas Den Uyl and Douglas Rasmussen to discuss aristotelian ...
05/12/2026

On this episode, PhD Alum Rosolino Candela sits down with Douglas Den Uyl and Douglas Rasmussen to discuss aristotelian liberalism. Den Uyl and Rasmussen share their history of working together, elaborate on how their writings have affected their fields of work, and recall the evolution of their views.

🎧 Tune in to the Hayek Program Podcast

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Rosolino Candela interviews Douglas Den Uyl and Douglas Rasmussen for a discuss

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