Tyler Cowen
Encyclopedia
Tyler Cowen is an American
economist, academic, and writer. He occupies the Holbert C. Harris Chair of economics
as a professor at George Mason University
and is co-author, with Alex Tabarrok
, of the popular economics blog
Marginal Revolution. He currently writes the "Economic Scene" column for the New York Times, and he also writes for such publications as The New Republic
, The Wall Street Journal
, Forbes
, Newsweek
, and The Wilson Quarterly
. Cowen is also general director of the Mercatus Center
at George Mason University
. In February 2011, Cowen received a nomination as one of the most influential economists in the last decade through a survey by the Economist
.
with a B.S.
in economics
in 1983 and received his Ph.D.
in economics from Harvard University
in 1987. At Harvard, he was mentored by game theorist Thomas Schelling
, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
is changing the world of three Mexican
amate
painters. Cowen argues that free markets change culture for the better, allowing them to evolve into something more people want. Other books include Public Goods and Market Failures, The Theory of Market Failure, Explorations in the New Monetary Economics, Risk and Business Cycles, Economic Welfare, and New Theories of Market Failure.
. His previous book Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist was published in 2007.
The Wall Street Journal
's review presents Tyler Cowen as the next decade's Thomas Friedman
for his ability to frame the dialogue.
, "Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide", was reprinted in the Food section of The Washington Post
.
, arguing against the social discount rate
. A recent paper has argued that the epistemic problem
fails to refute consequentialist forms of argument. Cowen has been described as a "libertarian bargainer" - someone of moderate libertarian ideals who can influence practical policy making. In a 2007 article entitled "The Paradox of Libertarianism," Cowen argued that libertarians "should embrace a world with growing wealth, growing positive liberty, and yes, growing government. We don’t have to favor the growth in government per se, but we do need to recognize that sometimes it is a package deal." His argument was subsequently criticized by Bryan Caplan
, Justin Raimondo
, Christopher Westley, and Doug MacKenzie. Cowen endorsed bailouts in a March 2, 2009 column in the New York Times.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist, academic, and writer. He occupies the Holbert C. Harris Chair of economics
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"...
as a professor 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...
and is co-author, with Alex Tabarrok
Alex Tabarrok
Alexander Taghi Tabarrok is a Canadian-American economist and co-author, with Tyler Cowen, of the economics blog Marginal Revolution....
, of the popular economics blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Marginal Revolution. He currently writes the "Economic Scene" column for the New York Times, and he also writes for such publications as The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and The Wilson Quarterly
Wilson Quarterly
The Wilson Quarterly is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. The Quarterly is noted for its nonpartisan, nonideological approach to current issues, with articles...
. Cowen is also general director of 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...
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...
. In February 2011, Cowen received a nomination as one of the most influential economists in the last decade through a survey by the Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
.
Education
Cowen was born on January 21, 1962. At the age of 15, Cowen became the youngest ever New Jersey State chess champion. Cowen graduated from George Mason UniversityGeorge 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...
with a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in economics
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"...
in 1983 and received his 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 Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1987. At Harvard, he was mentored by game theorist Thomas Schelling
Thomas Schelling
Thomas Crombie Schelling is an American economist and professor of foreign affairs, national security, nuclear strategy, and arms control at the School of Public Policy at University of Maryland, College Park. He is also co-faculty at the New England Complex Systems Institute...
, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Culture
The LA Times has described Cowen as "a man who can talk about Haitian voodoo flags, Iranian cinema, Hong Kong cuisine, Abstract Expressionism, Zairian music and Mexican folk art with seemingly equal facility". One of Cowen's primary research interests is the economics of culture. He has written books on fame (What Price Fame?), art (In Praise of Commercial Culture), and cultural trade (Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World's Cultures). In Markets and Cultural Voices, he relays how globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
is changing the world of three Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
amate
Amatl
Amate is a form of paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the pre Hispanic times. Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both communication, records and ritual during the Aztec Empire; however, after the Spanish conquest, its production was mostly banned and replaced by...
painters. Cowen argues that free markets change culture for the better, allowing them to evolve into something more people want. Other books include Public Goods and Market Failures, The Theory of Market Failure, Explorations in the New Monetary Economics, Risk and Business Cycles, Economic Welfare, and New Theories of Market Failure.
Recent books
Cowen's latest book, The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History,Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better is a short 15,000 word take on the US's recent economic trajectory and was released only in electronic format in January 2011. Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World (ISBN 978-0-525-95123-0) was released in July 2009 (and rereleased in 2010 with the new title The Age of the Infovore: Succeeding in the Information Economy) and received favorable reviews from critics including Matthew Yglesias and Tim HarfordTim Harford
Tim Harford is an English economist and journalist, residing in London. He is the author of four economics books, presenter of BBC television series Trust Me, I'm an Economist, and writer of a humorous weekly column called "Dear Economist" for The Financial Times, in which he uses economic theory...
. His previous book Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist was published in 2007.
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
's review presents Tyler Cowen as the next decade's Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...
for his ability to frame the dialogue.
New York Times columns
Cowen's New York Times columns cover a wide range of issues, including such topical issues as the 2008 financial crisis, "Too Few Regulations? No, Just Ineffective Ones."Dining guide
His dining guide for the D.C. areaWashington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
, "Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide", was reprinted in the Food section of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Political philosophy
Cowen has written papers in political philosophy and ethics: for example, he co-wrote a paper with the philosopher Derek ParfitDerek Parfit
Derek Parfit is a British philosopher who specializes in problems of personal identity, rationality and ethics, and the relations between them. His 1984 book Reasons and Persons has been very influential...
, arguing against the social discount rate
Social discount rate
Social discount rate is a measure used to help guide choices about the value of diverting funds to social projects. It is defined as "the appropriate value of r to use in computing present discount value for social investments"...
. A recent paper has argued that the epistemic problem
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including physics, philosophy, statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science...
fails to refute consequentialist forms of argument. Cowen has been described as a "libertarian bargainer" - someone of moderate libertarian ideals who can influence practical policy making. In a 2007 article entitled "The Paradox of Libertarianism," Cowen argued that libertarians "should embrace a world with growing wealth, growing positive liberty, and yes, growing government. We don’t have to favor the growth in government per se, but we do need to recognize that sometimes it is a package deal." His argument was subsequently criticized by Bryan Caplan
Bryan Caplan
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.-Personal...
, Justin Raimondo
Justin Raimondo
Justin Raimondo is an American author and the editorial director of the website Antiwar.com. He describes himself as a "conservative-paleo-libertarian."-Background:...
, Christopher Westley, and Doug MacKenzie. Cowen endorsed bailouts in a March 2, 2009 column in the New York Times.
External links
- Tyler Cowen's Web Page at GMU
- Tyler Cowen's Vita at GMU
- Marginal Revolution
- Cowen's Ethnic Food Guide. 25th Edition.
- Center for the Study of Public Choice
- Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide
- China Is Big Trouble for the U.S. Balance of Trade, Right? Well, Not So Fast
- Podcast featuring Cowen Cowen discusses liberty and leisure 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....
- Podcast featuring Cowen Cowen discusses his new book, Discover Your Inner Economist, 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....
- What's wrong with cute-o-nomics?
- Cowen's columns for Slate and the New York Times
- Review of Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
- New York Books Review of Discover Your Inner Economist
- An interview with Tyler Cowen on The Marketplace of Ideas
- Video discussions/debates featuring Cowen 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...