Hayek Lecture Series

The Hayek Lecture Series brings leading scholars and writers to Duke University to talk about compelling issues related to the economy and society.

Bjorn Lomborg, Hayek Lecture, Duke University, February 25, 2021

Bjorn Lomborg, February 25, 2021

Climate change is real and its impacts are mostly negative, but Bjorn Lomborg of the Copenhagen Consensus Center says that common portrayals of devastation are unfounded. In this lecture, Professor Lomborg outlines how to establish a rational climate policy in the context of many other, competing global issues. The Copenhagen Consensus Center is a think-tank that researches the smartest ways to do good. For this work, Lomborg was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. His numerous books include False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet, The Skeptical Environmentalist, and Prioritizing Development: A Cost Benefit Analysis of the UN's SDGs. The Hayek Lecture series is funded by a grant from the Thomas W. Smith Foundation and is sponsored by the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University and the Duke University program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

"Why Life Behind Bars Varies around the World" David Skarbek, Hayek Lecture Series

David Skarbek, August 27, 2020: "The Puzzle of Prison Order"

Many people think prisons are all the same—rows of cells filled with violent men whom officials rule with an iron fist. Yet, life behind bars varies in remarkable ways. Drawing on economics and a vast empirical literature on legal systems, David Skarbek, associate professor of political science at Brown University, explains why life on the inside varies in such fascinating and novel ways, and also how social order evolves and takes root behind bars. Professor Skarbek is the author of two books: The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System (Oxford University Press, 2014) and The Puzzle of Prison Order: Why Life behind Bars Varies around the World (Oxford University Press, 2020). This particular lecture was sponsored by the usual--the HOPE Center and the Duke PPE program, and by the Arete Initiative of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University.

"How the Digital Revolution Upended Journalism" Charles Whitaker, Hayek Lecture Series

Charles Whitaker, February 17, 2020

On February 17, 2020, Charles Whitaker delivered, "Conflict and Crisis: How the Digital Revolution Upended Journalism and Democracy," as part of the Hayek Lecture Series. The digital revolution upended the media paradigm in ways that have both advanced and harmed society as we knew it. On the one hand, it democratized the production and dissemination of content, nullifying the influence of gatekeepers who once controlled the flow of information in print and across airwaves. But it also enflamed our tribal passions, allowing us to burrow into echo chambers that confirm our biases and stoke our grievances. And it hastened the dismantling of local and regional news outlets that served a vital function in the promotion of community and maintenance of our democracy. In this discussion, Whitaker traces the arc of the digital maelstrom and its socio-political consequences and tries to suggest a way forward. Charles Whitaker is dean and professor at Northwestern Medill School. To learn how you can support the Center and the Hayek Lecture Series, please contact the director, Bruce Caldwell, at 919-660-6896 or bruce.caldwell@duke.edu

"Legacy and Athletic Preferences at Harvard" Peter Arcidiacono, Hayek Lecture Series

Peter Arcidiacono, November 18, 2019

On Monday, November 18th, 2019, Peter Arcidiacono presented, "Legacy and Athletic Preferences at Harvard" at the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University. Professor Arcidiacono specializes in research involving applied microeconomics, applied economics, and labor economics. Along with Richard D. Kahlenberg, Arcidiacono was hired by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) to serve as an expert witness in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard lawsuit, which was heard by Allison Dale Burroughs in Massachusetts federal district court in Boston in October 2018. To learn how you can support the Center and the Hayek Lecture Series, please contact the director, Bruce Caldwell, at 919-660-6896 or bruce.caldwell@duke.edu. Video recorded and produced by Shaun King, Department of Political Science, Duke University.

"The Game of Worms" Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Hayek Lecture Series

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, October 17, 2019

In this lecture, Professor Bueno de Mesquita will question the impact of the Protestant Reformation, arguing that it was not a major driver either of northern Europe's economic success or of the decline of Roman Catholicism's sway in Europe. Rather, both, along with Europe's secularization and creation of sovereign states, were predictable products of the Concordat of Worms. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Silver Professor of Politics at New York University. He is an expert on international conflict, foreign policy formation, and nation building. His current research focuses on the links between political institutions, economic growth, and political change. He is also investigating the causes and consequences of international conflict as well as national security policy forecasting and analysis. To learn how you can support the Center and the Hayek Lecture Series, please contact our director, Bruce Caldwell, at 919-660-6896 or bruce.caldwell@duke.edu. Produced by Shaun King, Duke University Department of Political Science.

“Editing Embryos: Private Choices and Public Goods,” Jonathan Anomaly, Hayek Lecture Series

Jonathan Anomaly, April 15, 2019

In this Hayek Lecture, Professor Jonathan Anomaly discusses some of the benefits and costs of emerging technologies that will allow parents to influence the genetic characteristics of their kids. Professor Anomaly began with an overview of some basic findings from behavioral genetics. He then discussed the coordination problems that are likely to arise when parents have access to technology that allows them to choose their children’s traits. Anomaly ended by defending principles justifying limited government intervention to solve coordination problems, drawing on insights from Hayek and Mill. To learn how you can support the Center and the Hayek Lecture Series, please contact our director, Bruce Caldwell, at 919-660-6896 or bruce.caldwell@duke.edu.

"Economic Freedom & the Wealth and Health of Nations," Robert Lawson, Hayek Lecture Series

Robert Lawson, February 4, 2019

On Februrary 4th, 2019, Robert Lawson visited Duke University to present his talk, "Economic Freedom & the Wealth and Health of Nations." Robert Lawson is professor of practice and Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom and is director of the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Cox School of Business. He previously taught at Auburn University, Capital University, and Shawnee State University. Dr. Lawson is a co-author of the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World annual reports, which present an economic freedom index for over 150 countries.