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Economics Reading Room

This area is designed for those who want to get acquainted with economics and the academic frameworks that inform Mercatus research. Mercatus Center scholars and faculty research, write, and speak on a number of topics including: basic economics, economic history, Austrian Economics, market process analysis, experimental economics, neuroeconomics, public choice economics, the economic analysis of the law, and an interdisciplinary approach to the study of social change. 

 

Recent Publications

Mercatus On Policy - The Business of Reconciliation Karol Boudreaux, Daniel Sacks November 1, 2007 In the years since the Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s, Rwandans and the rest of the world have wondered how the nation would recover—both socially and economically—from the devastation and what lessons, if any, can be learned from reconciliation.

State Power, Entrepreneurship, and Coffee: The Rwandan Experience Karol Boudreaux October 31, 2007 In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the new government lifted tight controls on the coffee market.  As a result of increasing income and new opportunities for entrepreneurship, Rwandans are better able to care for themselves and their families.

Mauritius: Where They Don’t Kill the Geese that Lay the Golden Eggs Eustace Davie May 6, 2007 Although condemned to a bleak future in 1961 by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Meade, Mauritius has transformed its stagnant, undeversified agricultural economy into a growing mnufacturing and export hub.  In the process, this small Island-nation has become a model for African governments interested in promoting entrepreneurship and economic growth in their own countries.

Paths to Property: Creating Property Rights in Africa Karol Boudreaux February 27, 2007 Even though secure property rights provide a wide variety of benefits, we should be leery of viewing these benefits as justification for a top-down approach to property reform.