Fascinating paper by Erik Matson. There is a ton of opportunity for HET on Colonial American economic thinkers (John Witherspoon, Pelatiah Webster, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, etc.): papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

"Commerce’s revaluation—from moral reproach to a driver of innovation and economic growth—has been central to the development of prosperous, dynamic modern economies." A new essay from me published by Civitas Institute civitasinstitute.org/research/polit…

The American people are increasingly beholden to our presidents’ whims about tariffs, which we should not forget, are taxes, the burden of which falls largely on the American people. Read Erik Matson's latest essay lawliberty.org/no-tariffs-wit…

My essay, "Lessons from the Founders on Price Controls" appeared Foundation for Economic Education last month. It was originally published Ford Leadership Forum last spring. Great insights especially from John Witherspoon on market process. fee.org/articles/lesso…

What is a moral science, and what does it mean to say that economics is a moral science? libertarianism.org/articles/econo… New article by me, part of 'Just Sentiments' series, formerly hosted by @AdamSmithWorks, but now, as of April 2025, hosted by Libertarianism.org

"Certain convictions and claims might incline us towards or against trade liberalization and the historical Ricardian policy position. But they in fact take nothing away from the analytical principle of comparative advantage." Basic econ from me Econlib econlib.org/library/column…

Thanks to Cafe Hayek for highlighting my Econlib article on comparative advantage today. cafehayek.com/2025/05/some-l…

Trade isn’t about doing what you do best — it’s about doing what you do better than others relative to everything else. 🔄🌎 Explore why comparative advantage still matters in today’s global economy: 👉 loom.ly/kWeA9LQ #Trade #ComparativeAdvantage #Economics Erik Matson

The SI in honor of the contributions of Mario Rizzo is now available online: Process, rationality and human wellbeing | Behavioural Public Policy | Cambridge Core cambridge.org/core/journals/…

"Buy local" sounds nice — but ignoring comparative advantage can make us all worse off. Learn why specialization and trade are key to prosperity: 👉 loom.ly/kWeA9LQ #Trade #Economics #GlobalEconomy Erik Matson Mercatus Center

Submitted final files for these two volumes today. Very excited to have these see the light of day next year! B&H Academic Books

I am very grateful for an absolutely fantastic friend and collaborator, Erik Matson, who drove the project forward consistently and led us to the finish. Here is the ToC: dropbox.com/scl/fi/8uvr727…

“Let’s make things cheaper by force,” they said. Erik Matson shows why that logic has flopped since 1777.

Is the market a place for virtue? In this @AdamSmithWorks essay, Erik Matson shows how Adam Smith and Joseph Butler both believed that commerce, when practiced with character, can be honest and good. 📖 loom.ly/dtLwGyk #AdamSmith #MoralMarkets

acton.is/4eeJ0Re The Enduring Value of Weber's 'Protestant Ethic' via Erik Matson

I'll be contributing somewhat regularly to The Freeman, recently re-launched on Substack The Freeman Here is something I wrote on ethics and economic education: thefreemanmag.substack.com/p/ethics-and-e…

Erik Matson reflects on how classical economics shapes our ethical imagination.

Should economists think like plumbers? Esther Duflo, a Nobel laureate, says yes. Just as plumbers tinker with pipes to keep water flowing, economists, she argues, should tweak and fine-tune policy to keep society functioning. It’s a seductive metaphor, but a flawed one. 🧵

Smith didn’t just publish TMS and walk away—he kept editing it for decades. Why? And what do those changes tell us? Erik Matson tells the story in Part 2 of this fascinating series: 🔗 loom.ly/zItcxXc #AdamSmith #ScottishEnlightenment

"G.K. Chesterton wrote in Orthodoxy that the world is full of magic. He found it in flowers, rain, the sunlight. He might, if pressed, have admitted to seeing it down the aisles of a grocery store." In a new article by me in The Freeman thefreemanmag.substack.com/p/the-economic…