Robert Tollison
Encyclopedia
Robert D. Tollison is an American
economist who specializes in public choice theory
.
, Tollison attended local Wofford College
where he earned an A.B.
in business administration and economics in 1964. He completed an M.A.
in economics at the University of Alabama
a year later. After completing his master's in Tuscaloosa
, Tollison moved to Virginia
to begin teaching at Longwood University
, then called "Longwood College." Shortly thereafter he commenced work on his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Virginia
. He finished his doctoral degree in 1969.
, where he would teach from 1969 until 1973. He then took a job at Texas A&M University
where he became the economics department head after a little more than a year. He held this position with Texas A&M until 1977 when, after having spent a year as a visiting professor at the University of Miami
's law school, Tollison accepted a new post at Virginia Tech as professor in that school's economics department. Tollison left VT in 1981 to work in various roles with the Federal Trade Commission
until 1983.
After leaving the FTC, Tollison returned to academia, eventually teaching at Clemson University
, George Mason University
, the University of Mississippi
, Arizona State University
, and Florida State University
. He is currently on the editorial boards for the Journal of Sports Economics
, Constitutional Political Economy, and Public Choice. He is on the board of advisors for the Independent Institute
.
He is currently Professor of Economics and BB&T Senior Fellow at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina
.
, Economics, is now in its seventh edition.
review of Tollison and Ekelund's Mercantilism as a Rent Seeking Society, a study of the political economy of mercantilism
,
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist who specializes 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...
.
Education
A native of Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, Tollison attended local Wofford College
Wofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
where he earned an A.B.
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 business administration and economics in 1964. He completed an M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in economics at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
a year later. After completing his master's in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, Tollison moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to begin teaching at Longwood University
Longwood University
Longwood University is a four-year public, liberal-arts university located in Farmville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 and became a university on July 1, 2002...
, then called "Longwood College." Shortly thereafter he commenced work on his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. He finished his doctoral degree in 1969.
Professional life
Tollison's first academic position as a Ph.D. was at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he would teach from 1969 until 1973. He then took a job at Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
where he became the economics department head after a little more than a year. He held this position with Texas A&M until 1977 when, after having spent a year as a visiting professor at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
's law school, Tollison accepted a new post at Virginia Tech as professor in that school's economics department. Tollison left VT in 1981 to work in various roles with the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
until 1983.
After leaving the FTC, Tollison returned to academia, eventually teaching at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, 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...
, the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, and Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. He is currently on the editorial boards for the Journal of Sports Economics
Journal of Sports Economics
The Journal of Sports Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Sage Publications focusing on the economics of sports. It was founded by economist Leo "Harold" Kahane in 2000 and is considered the leading journal for research on sports economics. The JSE is published in...
, Constitutional Political Economy, and Public Choice. He is on the board of advisors for the Independent Institute
Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is a libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 byDavid J. Theroux , the Institute sponsors studies of major political, social, economic, legal, environmental and foreign policy issues. It has more than 140 research fellows. The Institute was...
.
He is currently Professor of Economics and BB&T Senior Fellow at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
.
Contributions
Tollison's areas of particular interest include the economics of religion, history of economic thought, sports economics, antitrust theory, and tobacco policy. His textbook with Robert EkelundRobert Ekelund
Robert Burton Ekelund, Jr. is an American economist.-Education:Originally from Galveston, Texas, Ekelund attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, earning his B.B.A. in economics in 1962 and his M.A. in economics and history the next year...
, Economics, is now in its seventh edition.
Mercantilism
According to a Libertarian ForumLibertarian Forum
The Libertarian Forum was a market anarchist journal published about twice a month from 1969 to 1984. Its editor and chief author was Murray Rothbard; initially, Karl Hess also served as Washington editor...
review of Tollison and Ekelund's Mercantilism as a Rent Seeking Society, a study of the political economy of mercantilism
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...
,
- ...using public choice analysis, Ekelund and Tollison assert that English mercantilism declined because the rise of parliamentary power raised the lobbying costs for monopoly privileges. As parliament refused to delegate its newly won powers to anybody, any prospective monopolist had to secure majorities in the legislature as well as the acquiescence of the king....
[T] he authors stress the similarity between mercantilism and present-day economic regulation, despite the changes in the political system.
Economics of sports
Tollison's The National Collegiate Athletic Association: A Study in Cartel Behavior, in addition to a number of journal articles on the economics of sports, led to Tollison's work being frequently cited in the area of sports economics.As author
- Balanced Budgets, Fiscal Responsibility, and the Constitution with Richard E. WagnerRichard E. WagnerRichard E. Wagner is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He works primarily in the fields of public finance and public choice....
. San Francisco, CA: Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe 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...
, 1980.
- Politicians, Legislation, and the Economy: An Inquiry into the Interest Group Theory of Government with R. McCormick. Boston, MA: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981.
- Mercantilism as a Rent Seeking Society with Robert EkelundRobert EkelundRobert Burton Ekelund, Jr. is an American economist.-Education:Originally from Galveston, Texas, Ekelund attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, earning his B.B.A. in economics in 1962 and his M.A. in economics and history the next year...
. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1982.
- El Analisis Economico De Lo Politico with James M. BuchananJames M. BuchananJames McGill Buchanan, Jr. is an American economist known for his work on public choice theory, for which he received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy...
and R.E. McCormick. Madrid, Spain: Instituto de Estudios Economicos, 1984.
- Economics with R. Ekelund. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1986.
- Smoking and the State with R. Wagner. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1988.
- Concentration and Competition: The Economics of the Carbonated Soft Drink Industry with D. Kaplan and R. Higgins. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1990.
- The Economics of Smoking: Getting It Right with R. Wagner. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991.
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association: A Study in Cartel Behavior with A. Fleisher and B. Goff. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
- Sacred Trust: The Medieval Church as an Economic Firm with R. Ekelund, R. Hebert, G. Anderson, and A. Davis. London, England: Oxford University Press, 1996.
- Politicized Economies: Monarchy, Monopolies, and Mercantilism with R. Ekelund. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 1997.
As editor
- Theory of Public Choice: Political Applications of Economics with James M. Buchanan. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1972.
- The Economic Approach to Public Policy: Selected Readings with R. Amacher and T. Willett. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1976.
- What Should Economists Do? by James M. Buchanan; compiled and edited with Geoffrey BrennanGeoffrey BrennanGeoffrey Brennan is an Australian philosopher. He is currently a professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a professor of political science at Duke University...
. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Press, 1979.
- The Political Economy of Antitrust Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1980.
- Towards a Theory of the Rent Seeking Society with James M. Buchanan and Gordon TullockGordon TullockGordon Tullock is an economist and retired Professor of Law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law. He is best known for his work on public choice theory, the application of economic thinking to political issues...
. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1980.
- Theory of Public Choice II with James M. Buchanan. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1984.
- Smoking and Society: Toward a Balanced Assessment Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1986. (Japanese translation, 1987)
- Deficits with James M. Buchanan and Charles Rowley. Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell, 1987. (Japanese translation, 1990)
- Economics: Between Predictive Science and Moral Philosophy by James M. Buchanan; compiled and edited with V. Vanberg. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1987.
- Clearing the Air: Perspectives on Environmental Tobacco Smoke Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1988. (Spanish translation, 1989)
- The Political Economy of Rent Seeking with C. Rowley and G. Tullock. Boston, MA: Kluwer, 1988.
- Explorations into Constitutional Economics by James M. Buchanan; compiled and edited with V. Vanber. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1989.
- Predicting Politics: Essays in Empirical Public Choice with M. Crain. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1990.
- Sportometrics with B. Goff. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1990.
- The Next Twenty Five Years of Public Choice with C. Rowley and F. Schneider. Boston, MA: Kluwer, 1993.
- On the Trail of Homo Economicus by Gordon Tullock; compiled and edited with G. Brady. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press, 1994.
- The Economic Analysis of Rent Seeking with R. Congleton. London, England: Edward Elgar, 1995. (Japanese translation, 2002)
- The Collected Works of James M. Buchanan compiled and edited with G. Brennan and H. Kliemt. (20 volumes) Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1999-2002.
- Method and Morals in Constitutional Economics: Essays in Honor of James M. Buchanan with G. Brennan and H. Kliemt. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 2002.
- The Economics of Budget Deficits with W. Shughart and C. Rowley. (two volumes) London, England: Elgar, 2002.
External links
- IDEAS profile for Robert D. Tollison.
- Faculty bio at Clemson University.