fbpx
Wikipedia

Peter Leeson

November 27, 2023

Peter T. Leeson (born July 29, 1979) is an American economist and the Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University.[1] In 2012 Big Think listed him among "Eight of the World's Top Young Economists".[2] He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[3]

Peter Leeson
Born (1979-07-29) July 29, 1979 (age 44)
NationalityAmerican
SpouseAnia Leeson
Academic career
InstitutionUniversity of Chicago
(2009–2010)
George Mason University
(2007–present)
West Virginia University
(2005–2007)
FieldEconomics
Alma materHillsdale College
George Mason University
InfluencesGary Becker, Ludwig von Mises, George Stigler, Gordon Tullock
ContributionsThe Invisible Hook
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

Leeson is known for extending rational choice theory into unusual domains,[4][5][6] such as to the study of bizarre rituals and superstitions, and to the behavior of Caribbean pirates.[7][8][9] As Freakonomics coauthor Steven Levitt put it, "the amazing thing about Pete Leeson is that he takes these crazy topics and through a brilliant mix of meticulous historical research, data gathering, and creative economic thinking he shows that these seemingly nonsensical practices actually make a whole lot of sense... I can't think of another economist whose work has so consistently blown my mind."[10] According to the American Institute for Economic Research's Art Carden, "to the extent that the economics profession has an heir to Gary Becker in the sense of pushing economic analysis as far as we think it will go and then discovering it will go a little farther, it's Leeson."[11]

In 2022 Leeson received the Adam Smith Award, previously given to Nobel Laureates Douglass North, James M. Buchanan, Vernon L. Smith, and Elinor Ostrom.[12]

Formerly, he held faculty positions at West Virginia University and the University of Chicago.

Life and education edit

Leeson began writing about economics as a teenager:

In 1997, Mackinac Center for Public Policy President Lawrence W. Reed read an articulate letter to the editor...that scolded a previous writer for poor economic analysis of a public policy issue. Reed contacted the writer, assuming that he was a professor of some sort. In fact, the author was a 17-year-old Dow High School student, Peter Leeson.[13]

As an 18-year-old, Leeson was invited by an economics professor at Northwood University to lecture in his course.[13]

Leeson earned a B.A. in economics at Hillsdale College in 2001. He received his Ph.D. in economics at George Mason University in 2005 under the direction of Peter Boettke. In 2003–2004, he was a visiting fellow in political economy and government at Harvard University. In 2005, he was the F.A. Hayek Fellow at the London School of Economics.[14]

Leeson proposed marriage to his now-wife, Ania, in the preface of his book The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates.[15] Ania also appears as one of the characters in his book WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird.[16] Leeson has a tattoo of a supply and demand curve on his right biceps[17] and is an avid cigar smoker.[18][19][20] He illustrated his book WTF?![19]

Work edit

Economics of piracy edit

Leeson's Invisible Hook argues that Caribbean pirates developed an early form of constitutional democracy and engaged in behaviors such as flying the Jolly Roger because doing so maximized their profit.[21]

In the wake of the Maersk Alabama hijacking, his work on piracy drew substantial media attention.[22][23][24][25] In an article published by National Public Radio, he said that "early 18th century pirates, men like Blackbeard, "Black Bart" Roberts, and "Calico" Jack Rackam, were not only thieves. They were also early experimenters with some of the modern world's most cherished values, such as liberty, democracy, and equality."[26]

Although Leeson is careful to note that he does not praise the criminal actions of pirates, he argues that their self-organization is a useful illustration of how even criminal conduct is based on rational self-interest. In an interview published by The New York Times, Leeson summarized his thesis:

The idea of the invisible hook is that pirates, though they're criminals, are still driven by their self-interest. So they were driven to build systems of government and social structures that allowed them to better pursue their criminal ends.... The reason that the criminality is driving these structures is because they can't rely on the state to provide those structures for them. So pirates, more than anyone else, needed to figure out some system of law and order to make it possible for them to remain together long enough to be successful at stealing.[25]

CGP Grey's two-video animated YouTube adaptation of Leeson's Invisible Hook has been viewed more than 10 million times.[27][28]

Economics of bizarre rituals and superstitions edit

Leeson's book WTF?! argues that practices which seem senseless, such as trial by ordeal, trial by combat, and oracular divination, are in fact clever solutions devised by people to overcome social problems.[29] A recurrent theme in his work is that "people—all of them, regardless of time or place, religion or culture, wealth, poverty, or anything else—are rational."[30] Similarly, he maintains that all institutions, including those "that seem obviously inefficient—and, indeed, sometimes downright absurd—are in fact, on closer inspection, efficient and not so absurd after all."[31]

Steven Levitt has described Leeson's book as "Freakonomics on steroids"[32][33] and described Leeson as "one of the most creative young economists around."[34] Tim Harford called Leeson's WTF?! "one of the most original books I've ever read."[35]

Economics of anarchy edit

Leeson has written extensively on what he describes as "the economics of anarchy" and has suggested that "self-governance works better than you think."[36] Avinash Dixit described Leeson's book Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think as "an eye-opener," and Robert Ellickson described it as "masterly."[37] According to Leeson:

[T]he case for anarchy derives its strength from empirical evidence, not theory.... Despite... significant arenas of anarchy we do not observe perpetual world war in the absence of global government, shriveling international commerce in the absence of supranational commercial law, or even deteriorating standards of living in Somalia. On the contrary, peace overwhelmingly prevails between the world's countries, international trade is flourishing, and Somali development has improved under statelessness.[36]

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation's Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders awarded Leeson its Hayek Prize in 2006, noting of his scholarship that:

Leeson has concentrated on the study of the problem of order where no formal law exists, showing how in such diverse situations as trade among strangers, banditry in colonial West Central Africa and modern Somalia, and life in pirate societies over the ages often informal rules emerge that allow order to be preserved without heavy-handed government control.[38]

Views edit

Leeson stated in a column regarding Ronald Reagan and foreign policy, "Reagan's foreign policy was predicated on the use of military intervention to achieve the political and economic outcomes his administration was after in foreign countries. I am advocating precisely the opposite—that no such intervention would be desirable."[39]

Books edit

  • WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1503600911
  • The Economic Role of the State. (ed. with P. Boettke). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2015.
  • Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1107025806
  • The Secrets of Pirate Management. Princeton: Princeton Shorts, 2012. ISBN 978-1400843169
  • The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-691-13747-6
  • Media, Institutional Change, and Economic Development. (with C. Coyne). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2009.
  • The Legacy of Ludwig von Mises: Theory and History. (ed. with P. Boettke). 2 vols. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84064-402-9

References edit

  1. ^ "Peter T. Leeson." George Mason University Department of Economics
  2. ^ Wyne, Ali. "Empirics and Psychology: Eight of the World's Top Young Economists Discuss Where Their Field is Going." Big Think. July 25, 2012. [1]
  3. ^ Department of Economics, George Mason University. "Peter Leeson Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts."[2]
  4. ^ Dubner, Stephen J. "What Do Broken-Hearted Knitters, Urinating Goalkeepers, and the C.I.A. Have in Common?" Freakonomics.com. January 12, 2022. [3]
  5. ^ Keenan, Michael. "Interview with Peter Leeson, Author of The Invisible Hook and Anarchy Unbound". Seasteading.org. April 24, 2014. [4]
  6. ^ Koyama, Mark. "Peter T. Leeson, WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird." Review of Austrian Economics. 2019, Vol. 32, pp. 81-84. [5]
  7. ^ Rothman, Lily. "Game of Thrones and the Case for Trial by Combat." Time. March 12, 2014. [6]
  8. ^ Worstall, Tim. "Wifeselling: Is Selling Your Wife Slavery?" Forbes. June 21, 2011. [7]
  9. ^ Levitt, Steven. "The Economics of Gypsies." Freakonomics.com. July 27, 2010. [8]
  10. ^ Levitt, Steven D. "Peter Leeson on Why Trial-by-Fire Wasn't Barbaric and Why Pirates Were Democratic." Freakonomics.com. June 11, 2021. [9]
  11. ^ Carden, Art. "Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation." AIER.org. July 29, 2020. [10]
  12. ^ "Leeson honored with the 2022 Adam Smith Award by The Association of Private Enterprise Education." April 20, 2022. [11]
  13. ^ a b LaFaive, Michael. "Peter the Great." Mackinac Center for Public Policy. October 10, 2005. [12]
  14. ^ Leeson, Peter. Curriculum vitae. peterleeson.com
  15. ^ Pellien, Jessica. "Peter Leeson Proposes an Economic Love Story." Princeton University Press. March 30, 2009. [13] For further information, see this interview.
  16. ^ Leeson, Peter T. WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press. 2017. p. 11.
  17. ^ Crain, Caleb. "Bootylicious: What do the Pirates of Yore Tell us About Their Modern Counterparts." The New Yorker. September 7, 2009. [14]
  18. ^ Braun, Bob. "Pirates Provide Opportunity for Quirky Study of Economics." The Star-Ledger June 29, 2009. [15]
  19. ^ a b Leeson, Peter T. WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press. 2017. p. 191
  20. ^ Leeson, Peter T. "An Austrian Approach to Law and Economics, with Special Reference to Superstition." Review of Austrian Economics 25(3): 185–198. [16]
  21. ^ Shermer, Michael. "Pirate Economics? Captain Hook Meets Adam Smith." Scientific American October 1, 2009.
  22. ^ Trumbull, Mark and Mark Sappenfield. "Captain freed from pirates in daring rescue." Christian Science Monitor. April 12, 2009.
  23. ^ Abraham, Marc. "How pirates of old really did the business." The Guardian. April 6, 2009.
  24. ^ Caldwell, Christopher. "No honour among pirates." Financial Times. April 24, 2009.
  25. ^ a b Hagen, Ryan. "Pirate Economics 101: A Q&A With Invisible Hook Author Peter Leeson." Freakonomics Blog. New York Times. April 20, 2009. [17]
  26. ^ Leeson, Peter. "In Defense of Pirates (The Old Time Ones)." National Public Radio. April 10, 2009. [18]
  27. ^ CGP Grey. "How to be a Pirate: Captain Edition." cgpgrey.com. May 30, 2020. [19]
  28. ^ CGP Grey. "How to be a Pirate: Quartermaster Edition." cgpgrey.com. June 2, 2020. [20]
  29. ^ Leeson, Peter T. WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press. 2017.
  30. ^ Leeson, Peter T. WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press. 2017. p. XII
  31. ^ Leeson, Peter T. "Why did Pirates Choose Democracy? And Some Thoughts on the Efficient Institutions View." Coordinationproblem.org. April 20, 2013. [21]
  32. ^ Cowen, Tyler. Marginalrevolution.com. April 30, 2017
  33. ^ Stanford University Press
  34. ^ Levitt, Steven. "Freakonomics Meets Pirates of the Caribbean." Freakonomics.com. December 29, 2009. [22]
  35. ^ Stanford University Press
  36. ^ a b Leeson, Peter. "Anarchy Unbound; Or, Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think." Cato Unbound. Cato Institute. August 6, 2007. [23]
  37. ^ Cambridge University Press
  38. ^ Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders. Atlas Economic Research Foundation. atlasnetwork.org. . Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  39. ^ "Clarifying Matters". Cato Unbound. August 20, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2019.

External links edit

November 27, 2023
peter, leeson, peter, leeson, born, july, 1979, american, economist, duncan, black, professor, economics, george, mason, university, 2012, think, listed, among, eight, world, young, economists, fellow, royal, society, arts, born, 1979, july, 1979, nationalitya. Peter T Leeson born July 29 1979 is an American economist and the Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University 1 In 2012 Big Think listed him among Eight of the World s Top Young Economists 2 He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 3 Peter LeesonBorn 1979 07 29 July 29 1979 age 44 NationalityAmericanSpouseAnia LeesonAcademic careerInstitutionUniversity of Chicago 2009 2010 George Mason University 2007 present West Virginia University 2005 2007 FieldEconomicsAlma materHillsdale CollegeGeorge Mason UniversityInfluencesGary Becker Ludwig von Mises George Stigler Gordon TullockContributionsThe Invisible HookInformation at IDEAS RePEcLeeson is known for extending rational choice theory into unusual domains 4 5 6 such as to the study of bizarre rituals and superstitions and to the behavior of Caribbean pirates 7 8 9 As Freakonomics coauthor Steven Levitt put it the amazing thing about Pete Leeson is that he takes these crazy topics and through a brilliant mix of meticulous historical research data gathering and creative economic thinking he shows that these seemingly nonsensical practices actually make a whole lot of sense I can t think of another economist whose work has so consistently blown my mind 10 According to the American Institute for Economic Research s Art Carden to the extent that the economics profession has an heir to Gary Becker in the sense of pushing economic analysis as far as we think it will go and then discovering it will go a little farther it s Leeson 11 In 2022 Leeson received the Adam Smith Award previously given to Nobel Laureates Douglass North James M Buchanan Vernon L Smith and Elinor Ostrom 12 Formerly he held faculty positions at West Virginia University and the University of Chicago Contents 1 Life and education 2 Work 2 1 Economics of piracy 2 2 Economics of bizarre rituals and superstitions 2 3 Economics of anarchy 3 Views 4 Books 5 References 6 External linksLife and education editLeeson began writing about economics as a teenager In 1997 Mackinac Center for Public Policy President Lawrence W Reed read an articulate letter to the editor that scolded a previous writer for poor economic analysis of a public policy issue Reed contacted the writer assuming that he was a professor of some sort In fact the author was a 17 year old Dow High School student Peter Leeson 13 As an 18 year old Leeson was invited by an economics professor at Northwood University to lecture in his course 13 Leeson earned a B A in economics at Hillsdale College in 2001 He received his Ph D in economics at George Mason University in 2005 under the direction of Peter Boettke In 2003 2004 he was a visiting fellow in political economy and government at Harvard University In 2005 he was the F A Hayek Fellow at the London School of Economics 14 Leeson proposed marriage to his now wife Ania in the preface of his book The Invisible Hook The Hidden Economics of Pirates 15 Ania also appears as one of the characters in his book WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird 16 Leeson has a tattoo of a supply and demand curve on his right biceps 17 and is an avid cigar smoker 18 19 20 He illustrated his book WTF 19 Work editEconomics of piracy edit Leeson s Invisible Hook argues that Caribbean pirates developed an early form of constitutional democracy and engaged in behaviors such as flying the Jolly Roger because doing so maximized their profit 21 In the wake of the Maersk Alabama hijacking his work on piracy drew substantial media attention 22 23 24 25 In an article published by National Public Radio he said that early 18th century pirates men like Blackbeard Black Bart Roberts and Calico Jack Rackam were not only thieves They were also early experimenters with some of the modern world s most cherished values such as liberty democracy and equality 26 Although Leeson is careful to note that he does not praise the criminal actions of pirates he argues that their self organization is a useful illustration of how even criminal conduct is based on rational self interest In an interview published by The New York Times Leeson summarized his thesis The idea of the invisible hook is that pirates though they re criminals are still driven by their self interest So they were driven to build systems of government and social structures that allowed them to better pursue their criminal ends The reason that the criminality is driving these structures is because they can t rely on the state to provide those structures for them So pirates more than anyone else needed to figure out some system of law and order to make it possible for them to remain together long enough to be successful at stealing 25 CGP Grey s two video animated YouTube adaptation of Leeson s Invisible Hook has been viewed more than 10 million times 27 28 Economics of bizarre rituals and superstitions edit Leeson s book WTF argues that practices which seem senseless such as trial by ordeal trial by combat and oracular divination are in fact clever solutions devised by people to overcome social problems 29 A recurrent theme in his work is that people all of them regardless of time or place religion or culture wealth poverty or anything else are rational 30 Similarly he maintains that all institutions including those that seem obviously inefficient and indeed sometimes downright absurd are in fact on closer inspection efficient and not so absurd after all 31 Steven Levitt has described Leeson s book as Freakonomics on steroids 32 33 and described Leeson as one of the most creative young economists around 34 Tim Harford called Leeson s WTF one of the most original books I ve ever read 35 Economics of anarchy edit Leeson has written extensively on what he describes as the economics of anarchy and has suggested that self governance works better than you think 36 Avinash Dixit described Leeson s book Anarchy Unbound Why Self Governance Works Better Than You Think as an eye opener and Robert Ellickson described it as masterly 37 According to Leeson T he case for anarchy derives its strength from empirical evidence not theory Despite significant arenas of anarchy we do not observe perpetual world war in the absence of global government shriveling international commerce in the absence of supranational commercial law or even deteriorating standards of living in Somalia On the contrary peace overwhelmingly prevails between the world s countries international trade is flourishing and Somali development has improved under statelessness 36 The Atlas Economic Research Foundation s Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders awarded Leeson its Hayek Prize in 2006 noting of his scholarship that Leeson has concentrated on the study of the problem of order where no formal law exists showing how in such diverse situations as trade among strangers banditry in colonial West Central Africa and modern Somalia and life in pirate societies over the ages often informal rules emerge that allow order to be preserved without heavy handed government control 38 Views editLeeson stated in a column regarding Ronald Reagan and foreign policy Reagan s foreign policy was predicated on the use of military intervention to achieve the political and economic outcomes his administration was after in foreign countries I am advocating precisely the opposite that no such intervention would be desirable 39 Books editWTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford Stanford University Press 2017 ISBN 978 1503600911 The Economic Role of the State ed with P Boettke Cheltenham Edward Elgar 2015 Anarchy Unbound Why Self Governance Works Better Than You Think Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2014 ISBN 978 1107025806 The Secrets of Pirate Management Princeton Princeton Shorts 2012 ISBN 978 1400843169 The Invisible Hook The Hidden Economics of Pirates Princeton Princeton University Press 2009 ISBN 978 0 691 13747 6 Media Institutional Change and Economic Development with C Coyne Cheltenham Edward Elgar 2009 The Legacy of Ludwig von Mises Theory and History ed with P Boettke 2 vols Aldershot Edward Elgar 2006 ISBN 978 1 84064 402 9References edit Peter T Leeson George Mason University Department of Economics Wyne Ali Empirics and Psychology Eight of the World s Top Young Economists Discuss Where Their Field is Going Big Think July 25 2012 1 Department of Economics George Mason University Peter Leeson Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 2 Dubner Stephen J What Do Broken Hearted Knitters Urinating Goalkeepers and the C I A Have in Common Freakonomics com January 12 2022 3 Keenan Michael Interview with Peter Leeson Author of The Invisible Hook and Anarchy Unbound Seasteading org April 24 2014 4 Koyama Mark Peter T Leeson WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Review of Austrian Economics 2019 Vol 32 pp 81 84 5 Rothman Lily Game of Thrones and the Case for Trial by Combat Time March 12 2014 6 Worstall Tim Wifeselling Is Selling Your Wife Slavery Forbes June 21 2011 7 Levitt Steven The Economics of Gypsies Freakonomics com July 27 2010 8 Levitt Steven D Peter Leeson on Why Trial by Fire Wasn t Barbaric and Why Pirates Were Democratic Freakonomics com June 11 2021 9 Carden Art Peter T Leeson A Birthday Appreciation AIER org July 29 2020 10 Leeson honored with the 2022 Adam Smith Award by The Association of Private Enterprise Education April 20 2022 11 a b LaFaive Michael Peter the Great Mackinac Center for Public Policy October 10 2005 12 Leeson Peter Curriculum vitae peterleeson com Pellien Jessica Peter Leeson Proposes an Economic Love Story Princeton University Press March 30 2009 13 For further information see this interview Leeson Peter T WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press 2017 p 11 Crain Caleb Bootylicious What do the Pirates of Yore Tell us About Their Modern Counterparts The New Yorker September 7 2009 14 Braun Bob Pirates Provide Opportunity for Quirky Study of Economics The Star Ledger June 29 2009 15 a b Leeson Peter T WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press 2017 p 191 Leeson Peter T An Austrian Approach to Law and Economics with Special Reference to Superstition Review of Austrian Economics 25 3 185 198 16 Shermer Michael Pirate Economics Captain Hook Meets Adam Smith Scientific American October 1 2009 Trumbull Mark and Mark Sappenfield Captain freed from pirates in daring rescue Christian Science Monitor April 12 2009 Abraham Marc How pirates of old really did the business The Guardian April 6 2009 Caldwell Christopher No honour among pirates Financial Times April 24 2009 a b Hagen Ryan Pirate Economics 101 A Q amp A With Invisible Hook Author Peter Leeson Freakonomics Blog New York Times April 20 2009 17 Leeson Peter In Defense of Pirates The Old Time Ones National Public Radio April 10 2009 18 CGP Grey How to be a Pirate Captain Edition cgpgrey com May 30 2020 19 CGP Grey How to be a Pirate Quartermaster Edition cgpgrey com June 2 2020 20 Leeson Peter T WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press 2017 Leeson Peter T WTF An Economic Tour of the Weird Stanford University Press 2017 p XII Leeson Peter T Why did Pirates Choose Democracy And Some Thoughts on the Efficient Institutions View Coordinationproblem org April 20 2013 21 Cowen Tyler Marginalrevolution com April 30 2017 Stanford University Press Levitt Steven Freakonomics Meets Pirates of the Caribbean Freakonomics com December 29 2009 22 Stanford University Press a b Leeson Peter Anarchy Unbound Or Why Self Governance Works Better Than You Think Cato Unbound Cato Institute August 6 2007 23 Cambridge University Press Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders Atlas Economic Research Foundation atlasnetwork org Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders the Atlas Network Archived from the original on 2009 07 09 Retrieved 2009 07 05 Clarifying Matters Cato Unbound August 20 2007 Retrieved August 2 2019 External links editLeeson s website Interview at ReasonTV on The Invisible Hook Audio interview with Leeson National Review Online Leeson s bio at the Mercatus Center Roberts Russ May 25 2009 Leeson on Pirates and The Invisible Hook EconTalk Library of Economics and Liberty Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peter Leeson amp oldid 1184537924, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.