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USING NOVEL DATA TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES
March 13, 2019 § Hyatt Regency Louisville § Louisville, Kentucky
Sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Funding Opportunities from the Institute for Humane Studies
IHS offers funding for all stages of your academic career!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit TheIHS.org/ARSFunding, or contact [email protected]
Humane Studies Fellowship
A renewable, non-residency award of up to $15,000 to support current or future students in PhD programs.
The Humane Studies Fellowship can help with the cost of graduate school, so you can focus on developing, teaching,
and applying classical liberal ideas and the principles of a free society, instead of worrying about finances.
Hayek Fund for Scholars
Advance your research and the classical liberal tradition. Graduate students and faculty can receive funds to cover
costs ranging from conference travel expenses to purchasing data sets, as well as other expenses related to research and
career advancement.
Welcome to the Academic Research Seminar on Using Novel Data to Examine
the Impact of Government Policies, sponsored by the Institute for Humane
Studies (IHS) and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
It is a pleasure to have you here with us! IHS recognizes the scholarly impact and
practical application your work has on our understanding of a free society, and
we are eager for you to join the conversation regarding the use of innovative data
sets. We anticipate many active and collaborative discussions taking place during
our time together, and we hope you will share insights and knowledge based on
your own research and experiences with us over the next day.
IHS Academic Research Seminars seek to facilitate scholarly collaboration among
faculty, graduate students, policy experts, and our own staff in attendance. We
encourage you to connect with the other scholars attending our program, as
your similar research interests are one of the many reasons we invited you here
today. Our experience suggests some of the most impactful connections are
made during meals and receptions, so please plan to attend all scheduled events.
Thank you so much for sharing your time with us. We look forward to meeting
each of you over the course of the seminar, and we hope your attendance here
leads to a future partnership with IHS and other scholars as we work toward a
freer and more prosperous world together
Sincerely,
Justin DavisProgram Manager, Faculty Programs Institute for Humane Studies
Funding Opportunities from the Institute for Humane Studies
IHS offers funding for all stages of your academic career!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit TheIHS.org/ARSFunding, or contact [email protected]
Humane Studies Fellowship
A renewable, non-residency award of up to $15,000 to support current or future students in PhD programs.
The Humane Studies Fellowship can help with the cost of graduate school, so you can focus on developing, teaching,
and applying classical liberal ideas and the principles of a free society, instead of worrying about finances.
Hayek Fund for Scholars
Advance your research and the classical liberal tradition. Graduate students and faculty can receive funds to cover
costs ranging from conference travel expenses to purchasing data sets, as well as other expenses related to research and
career advancement.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the world’s premier university source for market-
oriented ideas—bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. A university-
based research center, the Mercatus Center advances knowledge about how markets work to
improve people’s lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economics
to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Our mission is to generate knowledge and
understanding of the institutions that affect the freedom to prosper, and to find sustainable solutions
that overcome the barriers preventing individuals from living free, prosperous, and peaceful lives.
Founded in 1980, the Mercatus Center is located on George Mason University’s Arlington and
Fairfax campuses.
Founded in 1961 by Dr. F.A. “Baldy” Harper, the Institute for Humane Studies is the leading institute
in higher education dedicated to championing classical liberal ideas and the scholars who advance
them. Specifically, we facilitate the impact of the academic community both on and beyond college
campuses—partnering with faculty to connect with students through campus programs, connecting
scholars to opportunities to further their careers both inside and outside of the academy, and offering
current and aspiring professors access to the foremost community of scholars working within the
classical liberal tradition.
IHS Academic Research SeminarsIHS Academic Research Seminars seek to bridge the gap between academia and policy by
encouraging the use of academic research to influence policy change. Seminars give an
audience of advanced graduate students, policy experts, and faculty the chance to connect with
like-minded individuals and help to facilitate connections with our partner organizations with
the goal of producing future research, speaking, and publishing opportunities.
USING NOVEL DATA TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICIESDuring this full-day seminar, key stakeholders will explore novel datasets that allow researchers to
examine long-standing economic questions regarding the effects of state, federal, and international
regulations. During a keynote address and three panels, participants will learn about new empirical
developments in research on occupational licensing, new research and opportunities to investigate
the effects of state and federal regulations, and new data on trade agreements and other international
rules that allow researchers to study how these policies affect trade and the economic health of
different countries.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
9:00–9:45 am | Optional Breakfast and Registration Kentucky Suite
9:45–10:00 am | Welcome and Seminar Introduction Regency South A Greg Wolcott, Institute for Humane Studies Patrick McLaughlin, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
10:00–11:10 am | Panel I: Regulation and Freedom in the States Regency South A Moderator: Edward Lopez, Western Carolina University Edward Timmons, Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at St. Francis University Dean Stansel, O’Neil Center at Southern Methodist University Steve Gohmann, University of Louisville
11:10–11:30 am | Coffee Break & Refreshments Regency South Foyer
11:30 am–12:40 pm | Panel II: Quantifying and Understanding Federal Regulation Regency South A Moderator: Patrick McLaughlin, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Bentley Coffey, University of South Carolina Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University Adam Smith, Johnson & Wales University
12:40–1:40 pm | Lunch Kentucky Suite
1:40–2:50 pm | Panel III: Understanding Domestic and International Law Regency South A Moderator: William Beach, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Scott Baier, Clemson University Christine McDaniel, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Patrick McLaughlin, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
2:50–3:10 pm | Coffee Break & Refreshments Regency South Foyer
3:10–3:55 pm | Keynote Address Regency South A William Beach, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Wednesday, March 13
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
3:55–4:10 pm | Opportunities at the Institute for Humane Studies and Regency South A the Mercatus Center at George Mason University Greg Wolcott, Institute for Humane Studies
Patrick McLaughlin, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
4:10–6:30 pm | Afternoon Break
6:30–7:30 pm | Dinner The Spire
7:30–9:30 pm | Reception The Spire
SPEAKER BIOS
SCOTT BAIERPROFESSOR AND CHAIR DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS [email protected]
Scott Baier is a Professor at Clemson University. He is currently serving as the Chair of
the Department of the John E. Walker Department of Economics. He holds a doctorate
in economics from Michigan State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Clemson, Professor Baier was an
Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame, where he was awarded the Amoco Outstanding Teacher
Award. Professor Baier’s research interests include the causes and consequences of globalization, the economic
impact of free trade agreements, and economic growth. From 1999-2012, Scott was a visiting scholar at the
Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. From 2007-2008, he served as a Senior Economist on the President’s Council of
Economic Advisors. More recently, he has also served as a consultant to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
and the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).
WILLIAM BEACHVICE PRESIDENT [email protected]
William Beach is a Vice President at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
William previously served as the Chief Economist for the Senate Budget Committee,
Republican Staff. Prior to that position, he was the Lazof Family Fellow in Economics at Heritage and director of
the Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA). As CDA Director, Beach oversaw Heritage’s original statistical
research on Social Security, crime, education, trade and a host of other issues. He was instrumental in developing
the state-of-the-art econometric models Heritage uses to estimate, in detail, how, for example, proposed tax
changes will likely affect individuals, families, and various business sectors as well as the overall national economy.
Prior to joining Heritage in 1995, Beach served as a senior economist in the corporate headquarters of Sprint
United, Inc., and, from 1991, as the president of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. A
graduate of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, Beach also holds a master’s degree in history and economics
from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a PhD in Economics from Buckingham University in Great Britain.
He also is a Visiting Fellow in Economics at Buckingham.
DUSTIN CHAMBERSPROFESSOR OF [email protected]
Dustin Chambers is a Professor of Economics in the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury
University, a Senior Affiliated Scholar for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
and a Policy Advisor at the Heartland Institute. Dr. Chambers is an applied econometrician who has published
widely on the topics of income inequality, poverty, and economic growth. His most recent research focuses
on the regressive effects of government regulations, including their unintended impact on consumer prices,
entrepreneurship, and social mobility vis-a-vis income inequality and poverty. He earned his MA in economics
from UCLA and his PhD in economics from the University of California at Riverside.
BENTLEY COFFEYCLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF [email protected]
Dr Bentley Coffey is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Economics Department of the
University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. His research spans the
determinants of growth (such as competition in entrepreneurial investment in technological innovation),
sustainability of producing that flow of output given environmental constraints (eg, climate change), and the
positive distribution of that output (ie, towards improving the welfare of the impoverished). In addition to the
University of South Carolina, Dr Coffey has served on the faculties of Clemson and Duke. Since completing his
PhD at Duke in 2004, with fields in Econometrics and Public Economics, Dr Coffey has also worked extensively as
a consultant (mostly for policymakers at EPA).
STEVE GOHMANNPROFESSOR OF [email protected]
Steve Gohmann has been a faculty member in the Department of Economics at the College
of Business at the University of Louisville since 1988. He became the BB&T Distinguished
Professor of Free Enterprise in 2009 and Director of the Center for Free Enterprise in 2015.
His research focuses on entrepreneurship, health economics, and the economics of prohibition, bourbon,
and beer. He typically examines the influence of regulations on individual decisions. He has published over 60
academic articles. The results of his work have been quoted in various news outlets and blogs including the
Economist, Wall Street Journal, and the Atlanta Constitution Journal.
EDWARD LOPEZPROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND BB&T DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF [email protected]
Edward Lopez is Professor of Economics and BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism
at Western Carolina University, where he is also Director of the Center for the Study of Free
Enterprise. He is a past president (2012-14) of the Public Choice Society and has since been its Executive Director.
His research focuses on political and legal institutions including term limits, eminent domain, and campaign
finance. His recent work explores the interaction of formal and informal institutions and the conditions under
which political institutions are reformed. He is the co-author with Wayne A. Leighton of Madmen, Intellectuals,
and Academic Scribblers: The Economic Engine of Political Change (Stanford University Press, 2013).
CHRISTINE MCDANIELSENIOR RESEARCH [email protected]
Christine McDaniel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center. Her research focuses
on international trade, globalization, and intellectual property rights.
McDaniel previously worked at Sidley Austin, LLP, a global law firm, where she was a senior economist. She has
held several positions in the U.S. government, including Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department
and senior trade economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and has worked in the economic
offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative, and U.S. International Trade Commission.
McDaniel has written for the Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill, and Forbes, among others, and her media
appearances include CNBC, CBC, Bloomberg, and MSNBC.
McDaniel spent three years in Australia as deputy chief economist in Australia’s patent office. She has
published in the areas of international trade, intellectual property, and empirical trade analysis and modeling.
She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado and received her BA in Economics and Japanese
Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
PATRICK MCLAUGHLINDIRECTOR OF POLICY ANALYTICS AND SENIOR RESEARCH [email protected]
Dr. Patrick A. McLaughlin is the Director of Policy Analytics and a Senior Research Fellow
at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses primarily on
regulations and the regulatory process. Dr. McLaughlin created and leads the RegData and QuantGov projects,
deploying machine-learning and other tools of data science to quantify governance indicators found in federal
and state regulations and other policy documents. The resulting database is freely available at QuantGov.org and
has facilitated pioneering empirical research by numerous third-party users on the causes and effects of regulation.
Dr. McLaughlin has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed studies in diverse areas, including regulatory
economics, administrative law, industrial organization, and international trade. His book, The Impact of Federal
Regulation on the Fifty States (with Oliver Sherouse), is available for download. Dr. McLaughlin has given expert
testimonies before Congress and state legislatures on topics ranging from the economic implications of regulatory
accumulation to the potential impacts of regulatory reform. His research and op-eds have been featured in a wide
range of media outlets including The Economist, C-SPAN, Wall-Street Journal, Politico, and The Hill. Prior to joining
Mercatus, Dr. McLaughlin served as a Senior Economist at the Federal Railroad Administration in the United States
Department of Transportation and as a Visiting Scholar at the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington
University. He holds a PhD in economics from Clemson University.
ADAM C. SMITHASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF [email protected]
Adam C. Smith is an associate professor of economics and director of the Center for Free
Market Studies at Johnson & Wales University. He has published peer-reviewed articles
in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, the European Journal of Political Economy, Social Choice &
Welfare, and Public Choice, as well as popular pieces in Forbes, US News & World Report, Charlotte Business Journal,
and Regulation magazine. He is also a visiting scholar with the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington
University, and co-author with Bruce Yandle of Bootleggers and Baptists: How Economic Forces and Moral Persuasion
Interact to Shape Regulatory Politics (Cato Press, 2014).
DEAN STANSELRESEARCH ASSOCIATE [email protected]
Dean Stansel is a Research Associate Professor at Southern Methodist University’s O’Neil
Center for Global Markets and Freedom in the Cox School of Business in Dallas, TX.
Previously, he served as an Associate Professor of Economics at Florida Gulf Coast University through December
2015. He earned a BA in Economics and Political Science from Wake Forest University in 1991 and a PhD in
Economics from George Mason University in 2002.
Prior to entering academia, Stansel worked for seven years at the Cato Institute, where he authored (or
coauthored) more than 60 publications on fiscal policy issues, including op-eds in the Wall Street Journal,
Washington Post, Investor’s Business Daily, and the Chicago Tribune. He also appeared on television and radio
and testified before Congress and several state legislatures. His academic research has focused on the impact
of competition between local governments on fiscal and economic outcomes, the relationship between the
size of government and economic growth, state fiscal crises, and a variety of other issues in the areas of public
economics and urban economics. Stansel’s academic publications have appeared in numerous journals, including
the Journal of Urban Economics, Public Finance Review, Cato Journal, Review of Austrian Economics, and the Journal
of Housing Research. It has been cited in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times,
San Francisco Chronicle, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE)
awarded him second place in the 2010 Policy Communicators Contest for his paper entitled Why Some Cities Are
Growing and Others Shrinking. In 2011, Stansel was selected by the Economic Freedom Project to help publicize
the findings of the Economic Freedom of the World report, the Economic Freedom of North America report, and
the virtues of economic freedom in general through a variety of media interviews (averaging about 75 interviews
per year since then). In 2013, he published the first ever local index of economic freedom (a new version of which
will be published in 2018) and was chosen to be the primary author of the annual Economic Freedom of North
America report. Stansel and his wife, Robin (who met while both were working at the Cato Institute), live in Dallas,
Texas. They have two children who they homeschool.
EDWARD TIMMONSPROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND DIRECTOR OF [email protected]
Edward Timmons is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Knee Center for the
Study of Occupational Regulation at Saint Francis University. He completed his PhD in
Economics at Lehigh University. His research on the effects of occupational licensing has been published in
The Journal of Law and Economics, the Journal of Labor Research, the British Journal of Industrial Relations, Cato
Journal, Health Policy, Monthly Labor Review, and Eastern Economic Journal. His research has been heavily cited
by the popular press, by the Federal Trade Commission, the Obama White House, and also in Senate and House
hearings. His work has also been published by U.S. News and World Report, the Hill, the Philadelphia Inquirer,
Harvard Business Review, the Tampa Bay Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Detroit News, the Louisville
Courier-Journal, and the Virginian-Pilot. In May of 2014 he worked as a visiting research fellow at the Collegio
Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri, Italy. He is a member of the Board of Policy Advisors of the Heartland Institute
and has written papers for the Archbridge Institute, the James Madison Institute, the Mackinac Center, the
Mercatus Center, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
NIGEL ASHFORDSENIOR PROGRAM [email protected]
Nigel Ashford is a Senior Programs Officer at the Institute for Humane Studies. He joined
IHS from the United Kingdom where he was professor of politics and Jean Monnet
Scholar in European Integration at Staffordshire University, England. Dr. Ashford has also directed the Principles
for a Free Society Project at the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation in Sweden and was a Bradley Resident Scholar at
the Heritage Foundation and Visiting Scholar at the Social and Philosophy Policy Center in Bowling Green.
He is a recipient of the International Anthony Fisher Trust Prize for published work which strengthens public
understanding of the political economy of the free society.
Dr. Ashford was also Chairman of the American Politics Group of the United Kingdom. He has lectured in
19 countries. He is the author of Principles for a Free Society (Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation, 1999, 2003), which is
available in eight languages. He is a co-author of US Politics Today (Manchester University Press, 1999); Public
Policy and the Impact of the New Right (St Martin’s Press, 1994) and A Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian
Thought (Routledge, 1991), and numerous articles on how ideas influence U.S. politics.
Dr. Ashford works on many of the Institute’s educational programs, liaises with the IHS faculty network,
produces regular academic newsletters for faculty and graduate students, and provides academic career
advice to graduate students, especially in political science.
MARISA SALAZARPROGRAM OPERATIONS [email protected]
Marisa is a specialist with the Program Operations team at IHS. In this role, she supports
various faculty programs by handling logistics for each event. Prior to joining IHS, Marisa
worked as the Communications Director for Goal Advocacy, a small free-market non-profit in New Mexico, and
interned at the Cato Institute. Marisa graduated from New Mexico State University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s
degree in Kinesiology and minors in Economics and Business Administration. While in school, she was active
with Young Americans for Liberty as a state chair and Students for Liberty as the West Coast Events Director for
their North American Executive Board.
Marisa lives in Lubbock, Texas with her partner and two dogs, Maya and Xena. In her free time, Marisa
enjoys hiking, being adventurous with cooking, and visiting local breweries and wineries.
STAFF BIOS
CHRIS SNAPPNETWORK RELATIONS PROGRAM [email protected]
Chris Snapp serves as the Network Relations Program Manager at the Institute for
Humane Studies. In his role, Chris works to facilitate connections between academics
and groups outside of the academy. He first became involved with the organization as an intern during the
summer of 2014. Chris is originally from Minnesota and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he
studied political science and urban studies.
When he is not working with the great minds within the liberty movement, Chris enjoys everything soccer
related, traveling and watching his sports teams let him down.”
GREG WOLCOTTFACULTY LIASON [email protected]
Gregory (Greg) Wolcott is a Faculty Liaison with IHS. Previously, he served as an Assistant
Professor of Business Ethics & Social Responsibility at Saint Mary’s College of California,
where he taught ethics courses in the graduate business program. He also taught at the Quinlan School
of Business at Loyola University Chicago and at the College of Business at Metropolitan State University of
Denver. His articles, review essays, and book reviews have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business
Ethics Journal Review, Reason Papers, the Journal of Applied Philosophy, and Business Ethics Quarterly. He holds
a PhD in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago and a BA in philosophy from The Catholic University of
America. Many years ago, Greg served as the Director of Summer Seminars at IHS and as a bartender at various
establishments in Chicago and Washington, D.C.
HOTEL FLOOR PLAN
Hyatt Regency Louisville 320 W Jefferson St
Louisville, KY 40202
Stoke your passion for learning and intellectual curiosity this summer!
IHS Summer Seminars bring together aspiring academics and esteemed faculty leaders for rigorous academic discussion that
explores the merits and challenges of a free society.
Graduate students and advanced undergraduates will expand their minds and their network this summer through interdisciplinary panels, lectures, and discussions and continue the conversation
during evening socials.
Davidson College | July 13 – 19, 2019
Georgetown University | July 31 – August 4, 2019
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
TheIHS.org/SummerSeminarDetails
Institute for Humane Studies
SUMMER SEMINARS
Stoke your passion for learning and intellectual curiosity this summer!
IHS Summer Seminars bring together aspiring academics and esteemed faculty leaders for rigorous academic discussion that
explores the merits and challenges of a free society.
Graduate students and advanced undergraduates will expand their minds and their network this summer through interdisciplinary panels, lectures, and discussions and continue the conversation
during evening socials.
Davidson College | July 13 – 19, 2019
Georgetown University | July 31 – August 4, 2019
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
TheIHS.org/SummerSeminarDetails
Institute for Humane Studies
SUMMER SEMINARS
Upcoming IHS Events
What Makes a Successful City?Academic Research Seminar
March 15, 2019St. Louis, Missouri
Frontiers in Permissionless InnovationAcademic Research Seminar
April 4, 2019Nassau, Bahamas
Summer Graduate Research WorkshopJune 20-23, 2019
Bryn Mawr CollegeApply at TheIHS.org/SummerRW2019
Please visit TheIHS.org or email [email protected] for more information on future IHS Academic Research Seminars.
If you are interested in becoming a partner organization or would like to
make a general inquiry about the Institute for Humane Studies’ Academic
Research Seminars, please contact Justin Davis at [email protected].