Bryan Caplan
Encyclopedia
Bryan Caplan is an American economist
, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University
, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center
, adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute
, and blogger for Econlog. He is best known for his work in public choice theory
and for his libertarian
ideology.
with his wife and three sons. He describes himself as being type ENTJ
on the MBTI
and as an "openly nerdy man." He is the author of one graphic novel and several role-playing game
campaigns. He has described role-playing games as "an art form, on par with novels, or movies, or comics" and has been published in Dragon magazine.
According to Caplan, he was first introduced to libertarian political philosophy
through the writings of Ayn Rand
and that it was his interest in philosophy that drew him to study economics.
in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993 and a Ph.D.
in economics from Princeton University
in 1997. Since then, he has spent his entire career at George Mason University
.
. He has agreed with political economist Donald Wittman that traditional public choice has reached conclusions inconsistent with the canonical assumption of voter rationality; many of his publications examine the effects of relaxing this assumption, an idea Caplan dubbed "rational irrationality." In a series of exchanges with Wittman, Caplan defended many of the conclusions of public choice while agreeing that Wittman's criticisms hold under the assumption of voter rationality. Caplan has also done empirical work on public opinion which suggests voters indeed hold systematically biased views about economics.
: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, published in 2007, further develops the "rational irrationality" concept from Caplan's earlier academic writing. It draws heavily from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy in making the argument that voters have systematically biased beliefs about many important economic topics. Caplan argues that voters indulge these biases at the polls, creating a negative externality because they do not directly bear the full cost of their action.
of having children is lower than most people believe and many potential parents could increase their welfare by having more. It is his first book written for a general audience, although it draws heavily from the academic literature in behavioral genetics, particularly twin and adoption
studies which are relevant to the nature versus nurture
debate.
(Poverty: Who to Blame) and presenting a philosophical / economic case for pacifism
(Pragmatic Pacifism: The Realism of Idealism). While he still publishes occasionally in professional journals, he has shifted his focus almost entirely to books.
, citing influences such as Murray Rothbard
and David D. Friedman
, and has written on the feasibility and desirability of a stateless society. He promotes austerity
for marginal reform and is a vocal proponent of open borders. Despite his pacifist position and radical libertarian ideology, he has criticized left-libertarianism
. He has also criticized some economists' (such as his colleague Robin Hanson
) use of an efficiency-only moral standard, advocating instead ethical intuitionism
with efficiency considerations secondary to moral principles.
was unusual. Caplan decried some of Columbus's defenders for engaging in cultural relativism to defend his policies of mass enslavement.
In April 2010, he caused controversy with a blog post that argued that women were more free in the 1880s than they are in the 21st century. This post led Bradford DeLong to call Caplan "the stupidest man alive".
Journal Articles
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...
, adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, and blogger for Econlog. He is best known for his work in public choice theory
Public choice theory
In economics, public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study problems that traditionally are in the province of political science...
and for his libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
ideology.
Personal Life
Caplan grew up in Northridge, California. He currently lives in Oakton, VirginiaOakton, Virginia
Oakton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. The population was 29,348 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 22124.-Geography:Oakton is located at...
with his wife and three sons. He describes himself as being type ENTJ
ENTJ
ENTJ is an abbreviation used in the publications of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to refer to one of sixteen personality types. The MBTI assessment was developed from the work of prominent psychiatrist Carl G...
on the MBTI
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions...
and as an "openly nerdy man." He is the author of one graphic novel and several role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
campaigns. He has described role-playing games as "an art form, on par with novels, or movies, or comics" and has been published in Dragon magazine.
According to Caplan, he was first introduced to libertarian political philosophy
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
through the writings of Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
and that it was his interest in philosophy that drew him to study economics.
Academic Career
Caplan earned a B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1993 and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in economics from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1997. Since then, he has spent his entire career at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
.
Austrian Economics
Caplan considered himself an Austrian economist before graduate school and much of his work draws upon themes in Austrian economics. Nevertheless, most of his academic work on Austrian economics is critical. He has written, "[W]hile self-labeled Austrian economists have some valid contributions to make to economics, these are simply not distinctive enough to sustain a school of thought. The task of developing an alternate Austrian paradigm has largely failed, producing an abundance of meta-economics (philosophy, methodology, and history of thought), but few substantive results."Public Choice
The bulk of Caplan's academic work is in public economics, especially public choice theoryPublic choice theory
In economics, public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study problems that traditionally are in the province of political science...
. He has agreed with political economist Donald Wittman that traditional public choice has reached conclusions inconsistent with the canonical assumption of voter rationality; many of his publications examine the effects of relaxing this assumption, an idea Caplan dubbed "rational irrationality." In a series of exchanges with Wittman, Caplan defended many of the conclusions of public choice while agreeing that Wittman's criticisms hold under the assumption of voter rationality. Caplan has also done empirical work on public opinion which suggests voters indeed hold systematically biased views about economics.
Myth of the Rational Voter
The Myth of the Rational VoterThe Myth of the Rational Voter
The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies is a 2007 book written by Bryan Caplan challenging the notion that voters are reasonable people that society can trust to make laws...
: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, published in 2007, further develops the "rational irrationality" concept from Caplan's earlier academic writing. It draws heavily from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy in making the argument that voters have systematically biased beliefs about many important economic topics. Caplan argues that voters indulge these biases at the polls, creating a negative externality because they do not directly bear the full cost of their action.
Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids
Caplan's second book, published in 2011, argues that the costEconomic cost
The economic cost of a decision depends on both the cost of the alternative chosen and the benefit that the best alternative would have provided if chosen. Economic cost differs from accounting cost because it includes opportunity cost....
of having children is lower than most people believe and many potential parents could increase their welfare by having more. It is his first book written for a general audience, although it draws heavily from the academic literature in behavioral genetics, particularly twin and adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
studies which are relevant to the nature versus nurture
Nature versus nurture
The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
debate.
Future Projects
Caplan's next planned book has the working title The Case Against Education: A Professional Student Explains Why Our Education System is a Big Waste of Time and Money; he has previously argued that almost all of education is inefficient signaling. Caplan has outlined book projects to follow will deal with the root causes of povertyPoverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
(Poverty: Who to Blame) and presenting a philosophical / economic case for pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
(Pragmatic Pacifism: The Realism of Idealism). While he still publishes occasionally in professional journals, he has shifted his focus almost entirely to books.
Political Views
Caplan is an anarcho-capitalistAnarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
, citing influences such as Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
and David D. Friedman
David D. Friedman
David Director Friedman is an American economist, author, and Right-libertarian theorist. He is known as a leader in anarcho-capitalist political theory, which is the subject of his most popular book, The Machinery of Freedom...
, and has written on the feasibility and desirability of a stateless society. He promotes austerity
Austerity
In economics, austerity is a policy of deficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided. Austerity policies are often used by governments to reduce their deficit spending while sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to pay back creditors to...
for marginal reform and is a vocal proponent of open borders. Despite his pacifist position and radical libertarian ideology, he has criticized left-libertarianism
Left-libertarianism
Left-libertarianism names several related but distinct approaches to politics, society, culture, and political and social theory, which stress equally both individual freedom and social justice.-Schools of thought:...
. He has also criticized some economists' (such as his colleague Robin Hanson
Robin Hanson
Robin D. Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He is known as an expert on idea futures, markets and was involved in the creation of the Foresight Exchange and DARPA's FutureMAP...
) use of an efficiency-only moral standard, advocating instead ethical intuitionism
Ethical intuitionism
Ethical intuitionism is usually understood as a meta-ethical theory that embraces the following theses:# Moral realism, the view that there are objective facts of morality,...
with efficiency considerations secondary to moral principles.
Controversies
Caplan wrote an essay entitled "Columbus: The Far Left is Dead Right" to explain why his agreement with the far-left on Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
was unusual. Caplan decried some of Columbus's defenders for engaging in cultural relativism to defend his policies of mass enslavement.
In April 2010, he caused controversy with a blog post that argued that women were more free in the 1880s than they are in the 21st century. This post led Bradford DeLong to call Caplan "the stupidest man alive".
Selected Works
Books- The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. 2007. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Named a Best Book of 2007 by the Financial Times)
- The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. 2008. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Paperback edition with a new introduction by the author.]
- Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. New York, NY: Basic Books. 2011.
Journal Articles
- "Rational Irrationality: A Framework for the Neoclassical-Behavioral Debate." Spring 2000. Eastern Economic Journal 26(2), pp.191-211.
- " Rational Ignorance versus Rational Irrationality." 2001. Kyklos 54(1), pp.3-26. (lead article)
- "Rational Irrationality and the Microfoundations of Political Failure." June 2001. Public Choice 107 (3/4), pp.311-331.
- "The Logic of Collective Belief." May 2003. Rationality and Society 15(2), pp.218-42.
- "How Do Voters Form Positive Economic Beliefs?" Evidence from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy." September 2006. Public Choice 128(3/4), pp.367-81.
External links
- Bryan Caplan's Website
- The EconLog blog
- "The Myth of the Rational Voter" (essay)
- Anarchist Theory FAQ
- Why conservatives should be libertarians
- Intellectual Autobiography of Bryan Caplan by Bryan Caplan
- Why I am not an Austrian economist
- Caplan on voting Caplan discusses his book on EconTalkEconTalkEconTalk is a weekly podcast hosted by professor Russell Roberts at George Mason University. Roberts interviews guests—often professional economists—on topics in economics....
- Caplan on labor markets Caplan discusses labor markets on EconTalk
- Caplan on voter ignorance on NPR Caplan discusses voter ignorance on NPR
- Video of interview/discussion with Caplan by Will WilkinsonWill WilkinsonWill Wilkinson is a Canadian American libertarian writer. Until August 2010, he was a research fellow at the Cato Institute where he worked on a variety of issues including Social Security reform and, most notably, the policy implications of happiness research. He is currently working on a paper...
on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...