Bruce Yandle
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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
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
AI's Cozy Crony Capitalism | Reason
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Remedy for Inflation’s High Tides? | Tribune News Service
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Looking for New Life in the National and Regional Economy | GroundBreak Carolinas
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Forget About an Economic Recession? | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Adjustments That Made Post-COVID Life Better | DC Journal and InsideSources
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Granholm’s Silly ‘Bigfooting’ the Consumer Concern | Washington Examiner
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2024
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The World’s Descent to Hell in a Handbasket Exists Mostly on the News | The Hill
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Bread and Circuses, American Style | Tribune News Service
Latest Work
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
AI's Cozy Crony Capitalism | Reason
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Remedy for Inflation’s High Tides? | Tribune News Service
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Looking for New Life in the National and Regional Economy | GroundBreak Carolinas
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Forget About an Economic Recession? | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Adjustments That Made Post-COVID Life Better | DC Journal and InsideSources
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Granholm’s Silly ‘Bigfooting’ the Consumer Concern | Washington Examiner
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2024
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The World’s Descent to Hell in a Handbasket Exists Mostly on the News | The Hill
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Bread and Circuses, American Style | Tribune News Service
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2024
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, September 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, June 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2023
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2022
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, September 2022
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, June 2022
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, March 2022
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Economic Situation, December 2021
Latest Work
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Forget About an Economic Recession? | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's December 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Many Variables Affecting Economy | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's September 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's June 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Bots, Bootleggers and Baptists | NPR's "Planet Money"
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's March 2023 Economic Situation Report
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Where Is Our Economy Headed Next? | South Carolina Public Radio
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Mercatus Original Podcasts Mercatus Original Podcasts
- | Mercatus Policy Download Mercatus Policy Download
Dr. Bruce Yandle's December 2022 Economic Situation Report
Latest Work
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
AI's Cozy Crony Capitalism | Reason
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Remedy for Inflation’s High Tides? | Tribune News Service
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Looking for New Life in the National and Regional Economy | GroundBreak Carolinas
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Adjustments That Made Post-COVID Life Better | DC Journal and InsideSources
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Granholm’s Silly ‘Bigfooting’ the Consumer Concern | Washington Examiner
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The World’s Descent to Hell in a Handbasket Exists Mostly on the News | The Hill
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Bread and Circuses, American Style | Tribune News Service
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Counterpoint: Bidenomics’ Rosy Data vs. the Price of Snickers Bars | DC Journal
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary