Bruce Yandle
- Distinguished Adjunct Fellow
Bruce Yandle is a Distinguished Adjunct Fellow for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He specializes in public choice, regulation, and free-market environmentalism. Yandle frequently briefs Capitol Hill policymakers on economic issues and lectures regularly in Mercatus programs for House and Senate staffers.
In 1983, Yandle developed the “Bootleggers and Baptists” political model, in which opposite moral positions lead to the same vote. He argued that bootleggers, who benefit financially from blue laws regulating the sale of alcohol, give support to Baptists advocating the desired public policy, because “when the Baptists go away, the Bootleggers lose their territory.” His 2014 book Bootleggers and Baptists: How Economic Forces and Moral Persuasion Interact to Shape Regulatory Politics, coauthored with economist Adam Smith, explores this topic further.
Yandle is dean emeritus of the Clemson College of Business and Behavioral Sciences and was executive director of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and senior economist on the President’s Council on Wage and Price Stability.
Yandle received his PhD and MBA from Georgia State University and his BA from Mercer University.
The Legacy of Bruce Yandle, edited by Donald J. Boudreaux and Roger Meiners, was released in 2020 and includes original essays and reflections that pay tribute to Yandle for his unusual ability as a teacher and researcher. The volume concludes with an essay by Yandle himself, looking back on his career and the state of economics and policy making today and issuing a call to action for the next generation of scholars and teachers in political economy.
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
An Election-year Plan To Undermine Prescription Patents Is Harmful to Our Health | Tribune News Service
- | International Freedom and Trade International Freedom and Trade
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
International Goods and Workers Bring Tidings of Great Joy to the Economy | The Hill
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's December 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will the Economy Get Better in 2024? | Washington Examiner
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Many Variables Affecting Economy | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Consumers Ignored by Labor and Posturing Pols | InsideSources
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
An Election-year Plan To Undermine Prescription Patents Is Harmful to Our Health | Tribune News Service
- | International Freedom and Trade International Freedom and Trade
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
International Goods and Workers Bring Tidings of Great Joy to the Economy | The Hill
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's December 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will the Economy Get Better in 2024? | Washington Examiner
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Many Variables Affecting Economy | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Consumers Ignored by Labor and Posturing Pols | InsideSources
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, September 2021
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, June 2021
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2021
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2020
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, September 2020
- | F. A. Hayek Program F. A. Hayek Program
- | Book Chapters Book Chapters
What Has Happened to Economics?
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
The Economic Situation, June 2020
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2020
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2019
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, September 2019
Latest Work
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's September 2022 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's June 2022 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's March 2022 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's December 2021 Economic Situation Report
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Frankenstein Economy | The Steel on Steel Podcast
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's September 2021 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's June 2021 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's March 2021 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Taking the Long View in 2021
Latest Work
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will the Economy Get Better in 2024? | Washington Examiner
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Consumers Ignored by Labor and Posturing Pols | InsideSources
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Taking a Close Look at the Economic Situation: September 2023 | Groundbreak Carolinas
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Special Interests Go Unchecked | Tribune News Service
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary