Media Contact:
Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
Social Change Project
The Social Change Project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University supports a global network of interdisciplinary scholars whose research advances an understanding of social change. Scholars work to develop a more practical understanding of how social change occurs, particularly the "institutional choice" approach to the study of social change, and how to create a freer society.
In pursuit of this, we have organized our research agenda in order to make progress toward answering what we have identified as crucial questions of social change, such as:
- Which institutions (social, economic, and legal arrangements) underpin a free society?
- How do people make decisions about institutions?
- How do values and belief systems affect institutions and vice versa?
- How are institutions modified and/or sustained?
- How do individuals interact with institutions to affect change that persists?
Through the Social Change Project we aim to provide social entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to shepherd a social innovation through the structure of production, from the idea stage to the implementation stage, in order to further the conditions necessary for human flourishing.
Research Efforts
Academic Conferences
Mercatus Center academic conferences bring together members of our growing network of leading scholars, for intensive, workshop-style meetings that provide a forum for a rigorous exchange of ideas and energize exciting new research agendas in social change. Conferences are by invitation only and limited in size to ensure productive, interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at furthering leading edge scholarship. Click here for a listing of past conferences.
Brown Bag Series
The Mercatus Center Social Change Brown Bag Series brings social change scholars and practitioners to Mercatus to present their ideas, in an informal and collegial setting. Presentations and discussions are open to the public. These events offer anyone interested in the latest in institutional scholarship, development practice, social entrepreneurship, and everything else "social change," the opportunity to interact with and learn from the individuals leading the charge toward a better understanding of social change.
Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
The Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics was established to encourage and explore the latest research that lies at the intersection of these three disciplines by scholars across the social sciences and humanities. Led by Mercatus Scholar and George Mason Professor of Economics, Peter Boettke, the workshop rotates between its Mercatus Center and GMU-Fairfax locations, and is centered around paper presentations by scholars from around the world.
Visiting Scholar Program
Leading institutional specialists from the academy spend up to one month at the Mercatus Center, interacting with Mercatus Center and George Mason University scholars, bringing their ideas to policy makers in Congress and the Administration through Mercatus’s suite of programs, and taking time to further their own work in an intellectually stimulating environment. Click here for more information.
Global Prosperity Initiative
The Global Prosperity Initiative of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University invests in and trains scholars whose work addresses the question, "Why do some societies prosper, while others remain stagnant and poor?" Mercatus conducts research and then applies the findings to problems of international economic development as well as economic stagnation and decline in the United States.
Working Papers
The Mercatus Center’s Working Paper Series is designed to give our affiliated scholars opportunities to solicit feedback on their research efforts before the papers are submitted to formal peer-review conferences at journals and publications.
Graduate Student Support
The Mercatus Center also promotes scholarship in social change through support and training of graduate students at George Mason University. To this end, the Mercatus Center provides fellowships, offers Graduate Student Paper Workshops (Wednesdays at 11:00am), runs the Social Change Workshop which facilitates our research on post-Katrina New Orleans (Wednesdays at 1:00pm), and supports the Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Ideas into Action E-newsletter
To sign up for the Social Change Project's e-newsletter, Ideas into Action, please visit My Mercatus.
Publications
PRESS RELEASE: The Next Time Disaster Strikes, Call Your Neighborhood Big-Box Store
Press ReleasesMarch 19, 2008
A new Mercatus Center report argues that local knowledge and proper incentives lead to successful disaster response. The report examines the characteristics of big-box retailers and the US Coast Guard that allowed for an effective hurricane recovery effort, and what prevents FEMA from responding effectively.
Economics in Many Lessons
News Articles and Op-EdsKarol Boudreaux, Donald Boudreaux
November 20, 2007
Mercatus scholars Karol and Donald Boudreaux share some positive lessons from Rwanda in this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review piece. "If you travel through Rwanda today you'll find that something nearly miraculous is happening: People who not long ago were bitter enemies are now working together to build businesses, to improve their lives and the lives of their families and to shape a new and a better future."
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Ensuring Disaster
Mercatus Policy Series, Policy CommentsDaniel Sutter
September 12, 2007
Natural disasters are called "Acts of God," but the severity of their impact depends upon many factors, including state insurance regulations. Insurance provides voluntary, contractual disaster relief - insurers agree to pay disaster losses in exchange for payment of premiums. In the United States, state commissions regulate entry, exit, and premiums, and contractual forms in the insurance industry.
Myths of Hurricane Katrina
News Articles and Op-EdsDaniel Rothschild
August 31, 2007
In his final installment, Daniel Rothschild comments on the local leaders in Louisiana who are driving the rebuilding process.
The Myths of Hurricane Katrina
News Articles and Op-EdsDaniel Rothschild
August 30, 2007
In installment two of three, Dan Rothschild addresses the myth that "New Orleans" and "the Gulf Coast" are synonymous.
Recent Events
Foundations of Capitalism
Start: April 22, 2008 11:30 AMThe Economics Department at George Mason University is offering a one-credit course for the Spring 2008 term entitled “Foundations of Capitalism.” It will be taught by University of Arizona, Professor of Economics and Philosophy David Schmidtz who is a visiting scholar to the Mercatus Center.
Scholarship and Policymaking: Who Speaks Truth to Whom?
Start: September 5, 2007 01:00 PMThe Mercatus Center at George Mason University presents a Brown Bag Lecture by Henry Nau, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, on his paper “Scholarship and Policymaking: Who Speaks Truth to Whom?”
Fighting Poverty through Entrepreneurship in Africa
Start: April 26, 2007 09:00 AMThis panel presentation, sponsored by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and is part of a week of Enterprise Africa! events in New York and Washington, DC.
Fighting Poverty through Entrepreneurship in Africa
Start: April 24, 2007 05:30 PMThis panel presentation, sponsored by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and New York University's Africa House and hosted by the Stern School of Business, kicks off a week of Enterprise Africa! events in New York and Washington, DC.
From the Beginning of History to the End of History: The Pursuit of Recognition and Democratization
Start: September 14, 2006 12:30 PMThe Mercatus Center at George Mason University invites you to an exciting Brown Bag lecture with Doron Shultziner, visiting scholar at the American Political Science Association, discussing his latest paper, "From the Beginning of History to the End of History."
For more information about this program, contact:
Claire Morgan
703-993-4930
cmorgan4@gmu.edu
