Russell Roberts

Russell Roberts

  • J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Professor of Economics Chair, Mercatus Center
  • Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Russell Roberts is Professor of Economics at George Mason University, the J. Fish and Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center, and a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

Roberts is the host of the weekly podcast series, EconTalk and blogs at Cafe Hayek.

His latest book is The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity (Princeton University Press, 2008). Told in the form of a novel, it's the story of how prosperity is created and sustained, and the unseen order and harmony that shape our daily lives.

He is also the author of The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance (MIT Press, 2001) a novel which discusses an array of public policy issues including corporate responsibility, consumer safety, and welfare. His first novel, The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism (Prentice Hall, 3rd ed., 2006) was named one of the top ten books of the year by Business Week and one of the best books of the year by the Financial Times when it was first published in 1994.

Roberts is a frequent commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." In addition to numerous academic publications, he has written for The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is a founding advisory board member of the Library of Economics and Liberty.

Before coming to George Mason University, Roberts was at Washington University in St. Louis where he was the founding director of the Center for Experiential Learning at the John M. Olin School of Business and a Senior Fellow at the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. Roberts has also taught at the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and UCLA.

PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Research Paper/Study
Gambling with Other People's Money image

Gambling with Other People's Money

How Perverted Incentives Caused the Financial Crisis
Russell Roberts | Apr 28, 2010
“If you don’t know who the sucker is at the table, it’s probably you,” runs an old poker saying. At the poker table of the current financial crisis, “We are the suckers.” Professor Russ Roberts writes his paper Gambling with Other People’s Money, “And most of us didn’t even know we were sitting at the table.”

TESTIMONY & COMMENTS

Congressional Testimony
The Job Market and the Great Recession image

The Job Market and the Great Recession

Testimony Before the Joint Economic Committee
Russell Roberts | Dec 10, 2009
In his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress, Lillian F. Smith Distinguished Scholar Dr. Russell Roberts explains what Congress can do to create jobs during the recovery period. Dr. Roberts also points out the many things Congress must stop doing in order to let the economy heal.

Congressional Testimony
Vices and Virtues of Limiting Executive Compensation image

Vices and Virtues of Limiting Executive Compensation

Testimony Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Russell Roberts | Oct 28, 2009
In this testimony, Professor Russell Roberts explains that the problem with executive compensation is that executives have not been subject to the profit and loss cosequences of the free-market system. Profits encourage risk-taking, and the losses encourage prudence. If the government would resist bailouts and allow these incentives to be…

MEDIA CLIPPINGS

The National Review Online

Arpit Gupta on Unemployment

Russell Roberts, Garett Jones | Jul 21, 2010
Garett Jones and Russ Roberts are cited in The Corner explaining that although fewer workers are employed in the economy, each of them is now more productive than ever.

International Business TImes

Weekend Read: Gambling with Other People's Money

Russell Roberts | Jun 18, 2010
The International Business Times raves about Russ Roberts' new paper from Mercatus.

The Wall Street Journal

The Glenn Beck Effect: Hayek Has a Hit

Discussing a surge of interest in Friedrich Hayek, the WSJ talks about Russ Roberts and Don Boudreaux, their blog and the rap.