William Ruger

William Ruger

  • Affiliated Scholar, Mercatus Center
  • Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas State University - San Marcos

William P. Ruger is an affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center and an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the Texas State University - San Marcos.  His research interests include international politics, security studies, civil-military relations, U.S. foreign policy, ethics and international relations, and political theory. His latest work, co-authored with Jason Sorens, is Freedom in the 50 States: Index of Personal and Economic Freedom, published by the Mercatus Center and available here.  For more information about Freedom in the 50 States, including data sets, related research, and updates, please visit http://www.statepolicyindex.com/.

Professor Ruger received an A.B from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Politics from Brandeis University.

PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Research Paper/Study
Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom image

Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom

Jason Sorens, William Ruger | Feb 26, 2009
This paper presents the first-ever comprehensive ranking of the American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. It develops and justifies the ratings and aggregation procedure on explicitly normative criteria, defining individual freedom as the ability to dispose of one’s own life, liberty, and justly acquired property however one sees fit, so long as one does not coercively infringe on other individuals’ ability to do the same.

MEDIA CLIPPINGS

Freedom in the 50 states

Jason Sorens, William Ruger | Feb 26, 2009
Feb. 26, 2009 – In the first comprehensive ranking of states on their policies affecting both economic and personal freedom, a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University shows people value freedom so much, they relocate for it.  “No matter what Congress does in the next couple of…
The Legislative Gazette

New Yorkers shackled and chained by high cost of living and govt. regulations

Jason Sorens, William Ruger | Apr 20, 2009