Political Entrepreneurs

The Economic Engine of Political Change

Category: Events

The Antigua Forum 2013

January 30th, 2013 by Wayne Leighton

This past weekend (January 24-27, 2013) marked the second annual gathering of the Antigua Forum.  Over 30 reformers from around the world gathered in Antigua, Guatemala to focus on one key theme: how to make market-liberal reform a reality in their countries. The participants at this year’s event included experienced reformers (e.g., former high-ranking officials), current reformers (those who are “in the trenches”), innovators working outside of the traditional political process (e.g., private education in…
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In Memoriam: James M. Buchanan

January 9th, 2013 by Wayne Leighton

The tributes will be coming fast and furious in memory of the great James M. Buchanan, who died today. As president of the Public Choice Society, my co-author Ed López can talk for hours about the contributions of this intellectual giant. For now, I will simply quote two paragraphs about Buchanan and Tullock’s contributions to political economy in general and public choice in particular, as described in Chapter 4 of our book, Madmen, Intellectuals and…
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Cato Institute book forum on Madmen, January 17th

December 11th, 2012 by Wayne Leighton

Mark your calendars! On Thursday, January 17, 2013, the Cato Institute will host a book forum on Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers: The Economic Engine of Political Change. Ed and I both will be there to explain the core ideas of the book and take your questions in person. And a special treat… Fred Smith , Founder and President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, will lead the discussion. If you are familiar with Fred’s passion for ideas and his belief…
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I will be guest blogging at MarginalRevolution next week.

December 10th, 2012 by Edward Lopez

    While Alex Tabarrok and Tyler Cowen are in India next week expanding the reach of MRUniversity , they have invited me to guest blog on MarginalRevolution.com . Starting next Monday (December 17) I will blog for seven days on topics broadly related to Madmen and PoliticalEntrepreneurs.com. I can’t think of a more fitting place than MR for Wayne and I to be introducing our ideas. Notice their tagline, “Small steps toward a much better world.” What Alex…
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Panel Discussion Today on Madmen

November 29th, 2012 by Edward Lopez

Wayne and I are speaking on a panel discussion at Western Carolina University today. We have a political scientist and a political theorist as respondents. We’re greatly looking forward to this and want to thank Steve Miller for setting it all up. Here’s a flyer for the panel. Later today we’ll post a summary of the discussion. Click to enlarge.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.189, ch.7)

The most successful entrepreneurs know what they do well, they know the market and the opportunities within it, and they choose those activities that create the most value. This is true in economic as well as political markets.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.178, ch.7)

[W]hen the right elements come together at the right time and place and overwhelm the status quo, it is because special people make it happen. We call them political entrepreneurs.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.176. ch.7)

While we started this book with Danny Biasone saving basketball, we end it with Norman Borlaug saving a billion lives. These stories are not that different. Both faced vested interests, which were reinforced by popular beliefs that things should be a certain way—that is, until a better idea came along.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.174, ch.6)

Because there was a general belief that homeownership was a good thing, politicians found the public with open arms.... Everybody was winning—except Alfred Marshall, whose supply and demand curves were difficult to see through the haze of excitement at the time, and except Friedrich Hayek, whose competition as a discovery procedure was befuddled... In short, once politicians started getting credit for homeownership rates, the housing market was doomed.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.166, ch.6)

Everyone responded rationally to the incentives before them. In short, the rules that guided homeownership changed over time, which in turn changed the incentives of these actors. And bad things happened.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.153, ch.6)

They understood the economics. The ideas had already won in ... the regulatory agency itself. All that remained to be overcome were some vested interests and a handful of madmen in authority.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.146, ch.6)

If the idea for auctions of spectrum use rights had been part of the public debate since at least 1959, why didn’t the relevant institutions change sooner? What interests stood in the way?

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.121, ch.5)

When an academic scribbler comes up with a new idea, it has to resonate well with widely shared beliefs, which in turn must overcome the vested interests at the table. Many forces come together to explain political change, even though it may seem like coincidence of time and place.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.120, ch.5)

It’s the rules of the political game that deserve our focus, not politicians’ personalities or party affiliations.

From the Pages of Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers (p.119, ch.5)

In short, ideas are a type of higher-order capital in society. Like a society that is poor in capital and therefore produces little consumer value, a society that is poor in ideas and institutions will have bad incentives and therefore few of the desirable outcomes that people want.

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