Donald J. Boudreaux

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Donald J. Boudreaux

  • Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism
  • Senior Education Advisor
  • Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Donald J. Boudreaux is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He was the chairman of the department of economics from August 2001 to August 2009. He is the author of Hypocrites & Half-Wits (2012) and Globalization (2008). Previously, he was president of the Foundation for Economic Education (1997-2001); associate professor of legal studies and economics at Clemson University (1992-1997); and assistant professor of economics at George Mason University (1985-1989). His primary research interest is international trade. He is also committed to making economic insights more accessible to wider audiences.

Published Research

Do Subsidies Justify Retaliatory Protectionism?

Donald J. Boudreaux | Oct 07, 2011
In this journal article published by Economic Affairs, Don Boudreaux examines whether protectionism is justified if foreign governments are subsidizing export industries.

Media Clippings

Sandy Deflates an Already Weak Economy

Donald J. Boudreaux | Oct 30, 2012
Outlet: U.S. News & World Report

Helping the Poorest, Climate Change and Capitalism

Donald J. Boudreaux | Jun 27, 2012
Outlet: The Wall Street Journal

The ‘Good-Citizen’ Economist

Donald J. Boudreaux | Jun 27, 2012
Outlet: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Economics, Money & Wealth

Donald J. Boudreaux | Jun 13, 2012
Outlet: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Expert Commentary

The Science of Economics

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Donald J. Boudreaux |
Jun 07, 2013

One of the scientific findings of economics — a finding as firm as any conclusion of the hard sciences — is that the mix of what should be produced and made available for consumption cannot possibly be determined by science. That determination, if it's to be remotely correct, can be made only by market competition in which everyone spends his or her own money.

Thank You for Smoking

The Wall Street Journal
By Donald J. Boudreaux |
Apr 24, 2013

To protect the red-cockaded woodpecker in the 1980s, the federal government prohibited the logging of old pine trees where the bird nests. Timber owners responded with more intensive logging, harvesting trees before they grew old enough to become suitable habitats for the woodpeckers. Even the best-intended regulations can spark unanticipated and counterproductive reactions.

Silence Golden for Market Economy

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Donald J. Boudreaux |
Feb 13, 2013

One of the market economy's greatest flaws is the silence it maintains when it is working relatively flawlessly. When the market stumbles, though — or when it's tripped up by unwise government interventions — a great clamor is heard. Unemployment rises, stock prices and exchange rates plummet, and tales abound of this hardship and that lost dream. Pundits proclaim loudly that the unreliable market must be “corrected” or “tamed” by the wisdom and prudence of politicians.

The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class

The Wall Street Journal
By Donald J. Boudreaux, Mark J. Perry |
Jan 24, 2013

Despite assertions by progressives who complain about stagnant wages, inequality and the (always) disappearing middle class, middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before. They live longer lives and have much greater access to the services and consumer products bought by billionaires.
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