James D. Gwartney holds the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University. His writings have been widely published in both professional journals and popular media. He is a co-author of COMMON SENSE ECONOMICS: WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WEALTH AND PROSPERITY, a primer on economics and personal finance. Dr. Gwartney's current research focuses on the measurement and determination of factors that influence cross-country differences in income levels and growth rates. Using this research, he is the co-author (with Robert Lawson, Joshua Hall, and Ryan Murphy) of the annual report, Economic Freedom of the World, which provides information on the institutions and policies of 162 countries. This data set, published by a worldwide network of institutes in 90 countries, is widely used by scholars investigating topics ranging from economic growth to peaceful relations among nations. Dr. Gwartney served as chief economist of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress during 1999-2000. In 2004, he received the Adam Smith Award of the Association of Private Enterprise Education for his contributions to the advancement of free market ideals. He is a past president of both the Southern Economic Association and the Association for Private Enterprise Education. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington.
Richard L. Stroup is professor emeritus of economics at Montana State University and professor emeritus of economics at North Carolina State University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington. From 1982 to 1984, Dr. Stroup served as director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Interior. He has published and lectured on topics such as global warming, land use regulation, archaeology and environmental policy improvements. His research has helped to develop the approach known as free market environmentalism. Dr. Stroup co-authored COMMON SENSE ECONOMICS: WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WEALTH AND PROSPERITY with Dr. Gwartney. In addition, he has published ECONOMICS: WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT, which was sponsored by the Property and Environment Research Center, which he co-founded.
Russell S. Sobel is professor of economics and entrepreneurship in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel in Dr. Sobel's hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Sobel received his Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University in 1994. He serves as co-editor of the Southern Economic Journal and is a member of the editorial boards for the peer-reviewed journal Public Choice and the Journal of Entrepreneurship & Public Policy. Dr. Sobel has received numerous awards for both his teaching and research, including the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association, the Georgescu-Roegen Prize for Best Article of the Year in the Southern Economic Journal and the Association of Private Enterprise Education Distinguished Scholar Award. In addition, he received the Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for his book UNLEASHING CAPITALISM. He is the author or co-author of more than 250 academic journal articles and books. His publications have appeared in a wide variety of academic journals including the Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Law and Economics, Public Choice, Journal of Business Venturing, Small Business Economics and Economic Inquiry. His current recent research focuses on the intersection of entrepreneurship and economic policy.
David A. Macpherson is the director of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy and the Rod and Hope Brim Eminent Scholar of Economics at Florida State University, where he has received two university-wide awards for teaching excellence. Professor Macpherson is the author of many articles in leading labor economics and industrial relations journals, including the Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources, and Industrial and Labor Relations Review. He is also coauthor of Contemporary Labor Economics, 8th, as well as the annual Union Membership and Earnings Data Book: Compilations from the Current Population Survey. His specialty is applied labor economics. His current research interests include pensions, discrimination, labor unions, and the minimum wage. He received his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University.
