Read the introduction here.
Published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the Advanced Studies in Political Economy series.
For over half a century, Robert Higgs has been a trailblazer in the fields of economics and political economy, challenging the conventional paradigm of government intervention with incisive critique and rigorous theoretical and historical analysis. As the founding editor of The Independent Review, Higgs carved out an intellectual space for a freer exploration of pressing issues in political economy and policy. Over the course of a distinguished academic career, including professorships at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, and Seattle University, Higgs has authored more than a dozen influential books and over 100 scholarly articles, reviews, and policy studies.
Higgs's scholarship provides unique insight into the nature and impact of real-world government policy, revealing how policies that are justified as serving the public interest can also be discriminatory and coercive. He explores the tensions and balance between safety and freedom, the manipulative use of fear to achieve policy goals, and the perils of entrusting societal well-being to "experts." Higgs's "ratchet effect" framework explains how crises can lead to permanent expansions of government power, and his concept of "regime uncertainty" offers a fresh understanding of prolonged economic stagnation during the Great Depression.
This volume gathers essays contributed by esteemed colleagues and scholars that demonstrate the relevance of Higgs's ideas and insights to today's most pressing issues. The volume explores matters of oppression and repression, of market competition and empowerment, and of the warfare state's costs and consequences. The Legacy of Robert Higgs will be of interest to students, to scholars, and to anyone with a stake in human freedom and flourishing.
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Contents
Introduction: The Legacy of Robert Higgs
Christopher J. Coyne
Chapter 1: Competition, Coercion, and African American Economic Progress in the Work of Robert Higgs
Art Carden
Chapter 2: The Origins and Persistence of Discriminatory Institutions and Ideologies
Jayme S. Lemke
Chapter 3: Reconsidering Inequality: Limitations and Opportunities
Robert Whaples
Chapter 4: The Coercion Bias in Economic Measurement
Vincent Geloso
Chapter 5: Regime Uncertainty and Market Uncertainty
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chapter 6: Ideology, Crisis, and the Ratchet Effect: Retrospect and Prospects
Abigail R. Hall
Chapter 7: The History, Ideology, and Shape of Leviathan: Researching the American State's Ratchet Effect, Growth, and Transformation
Anthony Gregory
Chapter 8: The Ratchet Effect: War Powers and Presidential Unilateralism
Sarah Burns
Chapter 9: Crisis and Hydra: The Ratchet Effect and Government Control over Money and Banking
Jonathan Newman
Chapter 10: COVID and Leviathan
Laurie Calhoun
Chapter 11: The Military-Industrial Complex and the Militarization of Society
Nathan P. Goodman
Chapter 12: The War Industry as Economic Cancer
Christopher J. Coyne and Yuliya Yatsyshina
Chapter 13: The Continuing Costs of the Permanent War Economy
Thomas K. Duncan
Chapter 14: What About the Healthcare State? Robert Higgs's Contribution to Health Economics
Raymond J. March
Chapter 15: If Angels Were to Govern Men
Tate Fegley
Chapter 16: Two Paths toward Anarcho-pacifism: Lessons from Christianity and Modern Economics
Edward P. Stringham and Spencer D. Brown
