Peter Joseph Boettke (; born January 3, 1960) is an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

of the

Austrian school The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...

. He is currently a professor of

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, vice president for research, and director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the

Mercatus Center The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. The Mercatus Center is located at the George Mason University campus, but it is privately funded and its employees are independent of the university. It ...

at George Mason University.

Early life and education

Boettke was born and raised in Rahway,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, to Fred and Elinor Boettke. In high school and college, he played for the school basketball and tennis teams. He attended Thiel College in Greenville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and later Grove City College in nearby Grove City, Pennsylvania. At Grove City, he became interested in economics when he took a course taught by Hans Sennholz, and there he developed his religious convictions. After completing a B.A. (1983) in economics at Grove City, Boettke attended

where he earned an M.A. (1987) and a Ph.D. (1989) in economics. His thesis was ''The political economy of Soviet socialism, 1918–1928'' under the supervision of Don Lavoie.

Career

After receiving his doctoral degree, Boettke taught at several institutions, including

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 1998, he returned to George Mason University as a faculty member. In 2004, he was named a Hayek Fellow at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He has also been a Faculty Fellow at the Charles University/Georgetown University American Institute for Political and Economic Studies in Prague and a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He has also been made an affiliated member of the Philosophy Department at

and, in 2012, he was awarded a doctorate ''honoris causa'' in social sciences from Universidad Francisco Marroquín. In addition to his academic positions, he is vice president for research at

and director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Until 2007, Boettke held the position of director of graduate studies for the Ph.D. program in economics at George Mason. He is the editor of George Mason University's ''Review of Austrian Economics'' and as vice president of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of Economist, economists, Political philosophy, political philosophers, and other Intelligentsia, intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is hea ...

for the 2018–2020 term. He was the society's president from 2016 to 2018.

Analytical anarchism

Analytical anarchism is the name given by Boettke to the positive

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, or anarchism from the economic point of view, in the libertarian tradition of

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

's ''

For a New Liberty ''For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto'' (1973; second edition 1978; third edition 1985) is a book by American economist and historian Murray Rothbard, in which the author promotes anarcho-capitalism. The work has been credited as an infl ...

'' (1973) and David Friedman's '' The Machinery of Freedom'' (1973). Boettke claims that analytical anarchism has developed out of this tradition and is currently being pursued by economists such as Peter Leeson, Edward Stringham and Christopher Coyne.

Publications

Books * ''Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'' (Independent Institute and Universidad Francisco Marroquin 2012) . * ''Context Matters: Institutions and Entrepreneurship'' (co-authored with Christopher Coyne (professor)) (Now Publishers, 2009) * ''The Battle of Ideas: Economics and the Struggle for a Better World'' * ''Is an Independent Non-Profit Sector Prone to Failure?'' (co-authored with David Prychitko) * ''The Political Economy of Soviet Socialism: The Formative Years, 1918–1928'' (Kluwer, 1990) . * . * ''Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy'' (Routledge, 2001) . * ''The Economic Way of Thinking'' with Paul Heyne and David Prychitko (Pearson, 2014) . * Books as editor * ''Market Process: Essays in Contemporary Austrian Economics'' with David Prychitko. Edward Elgar, 1994. * ''The Collapse of Development Planning''. New York University Press, 1994. * ''The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics''. Elgar, 1994 * ''The Market Process'', 2 volumes, with David Prychitko. Elgar, 1998 * ''The Legacy of F. A. Hayek: Politics, Philosophy, Economics'', 3 volumes. Edward Elgar, 1999 * ''Socialism and the Market: The Socialist Calculation Debate Revisited'', 9 volumes. Routledge, 2000. * ''The Legacy of Ludwig von Mises: Theory and History'', ed. with Peter Leeson. 2 vols. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 2006. * ''The Economic Point of View'', the first volume of

Israel Kirzner Israel Meir Kirzner (also Yisroel Mayer Kirzner ; born February 13, 1930) is a British-born American economist, historian, rabbi, and Talmudist closely identified with the Austrian School. Early life and education The son of a well-known rabbi a ...

's Collected Works, edited with Frederic Sautet and published by Liberty Fund, December 2009. * ''Handbook On Contemporary Austrian Economics'', Edward Elgar, 2010. * ''Market Theory and the Price System'', the second volume of

's Collected Works, edited with Frederic Sautet and published by Liberty Fund, May 2011. * ''Essays on Capital'', the third volume of

's Collected Works, edited with Frederic Sautet and published by Liberty Fund, 2012. * ''The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics'', with Christopher Coyne. October 2015. * ''The Economic Role of the State'' (ed. with Peter Leeson). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2015.

Personal life

Boettke resides in Fairfax,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, with his wife and two sons.

References

External links

Boettke's Coordination Problem blog (with Christopher Coyne, Steve Horwitz, Peter Leeson, David Prychitko, and Frederic Sautet)

Boettke's biography
at the Mercatus Center
Boettke's biography
at the Institute for Humane Studies *
Liberty & Power
Group blog *
"A Market Nobel"
''The Wall Street Journal'' op-ed, October 16, 2007 * *
Boettke's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boettke, Peter 1960 births Living people American libertarians Austrian School economists George Mason University alumni George Mason University faculty Grove City College alumni Manhattan College faculty New York University faculty Oakland University faculty People from Rahway, New Jersey Stanford University staff Thiel College alumni Mackinac Center for Public Policy Mercatus Center Economists from New Jersey 21st-century American economists Member of the Mont Pelerin Society