Benjamin Powell, Ph.D. - Texas Tech University - The Independent Institute - Lubbock, Texas ( TX )
     
 

Public Lectures
I often give public lectures or participate in debates on a variety of economic topics. I've lectured at universities and think-tanks all over the United States and in many locations abroad. A few of the most popular topics I'm invited to lecture on are:
 
Socialism
I give public lectures regularly on my latest co-authored book, Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World. The rising popularity of socialism has made this an increasingly important topic to discuss. But while the topic is deadly serious, my talk is very accessable and sometimes even funny (at least for an economist) as I share my experiences traveling to Sweden, Venezuela, Cuba, Korea, China, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and to a big socialist conference in the United States. I mix pictures and my first hand travel stories (and beer drinking) with social science and history that illustrates why socialism is always a disaster.
 
Sweatshops
I explain how sweatshops provide a superior opportunity for the workers who work in them compared to other alternatives available to those workers and the role sweatshops play in the process of economic development that ultimately leads to the disappearance of sweatshops. I'm currently finishing a book, No Sweat: How Sweatshops Improve Lives and Economic Growth, on the topic. A brief intro to my thinking on the topic can be found here.
 
Below are a brief video I recorded on some of the benefits of sweatshops and also a longer video with a portion of a typical public talk I give on the topic:
 
Photo - Benjamin Powell, Ph.D. - Suffolk University - The Beacon Hill Institute - The Independent Institute - Boston, Massachusetts ( MA )
 
Lecturing with Bob Lawson on Socialism Sucks:
Two Economist Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World
 
Benefits of Sweatshops
 
Typical Public Talk
 
Immigration
I argue that much of the public debate surrounding immigration is misplaced. Immigrants create a net gain for the U.S. economy, they don't steal jobs on net, nor do they systematically depress the wages of the native born population. Most of the problems with immigration aren't from immigration per se but stem from the interaction of immigration with other inefficient domestic policies. A summary of my talk can be found here.
 
Below are a short two minute video exposing three myths about immigration and a longer debate on immigration I had with former Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm:
 
Top 3 Myths About Immigration
 
Debate on Imigration
 
Somalia
I give a public lecture on Somalia's experience with statelessness that explores both topics in economic development and the economic analysis of anarchy. In short, Somalia, although desperately poor, has actually improved its economic development since its central government collapsed. They have a privately enforced customary legal system that provides the foundation for economic development. A brief version of my basic take on Somalia's experience can be found here.
 
A podcast can be found here.
 
Economic Development
I give a variety of talks related to economic development. Some focus on problems with international aid while others focus on the role of economic freedom, private property, and the rule of law play in promoting development. Often the talk is based off of the research that was published in my edited volume Making Poor Nations Rich: Entrepreneurship and the Process of Development. (Click here for link to my Books page).
 
Here's a link to a lecture I gave on economic freedom and growth at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).
 
Other Topics
I've lectured and debated a variety of other topics ranging from the microeconomics of housing policy, to public choice to the causes and solutions to the recent economic recession.
 
Here's a link to a podcast of a lecture I gave on public choice economics at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).
 
Below is a brief video where I explain the logic of politics:
 
Logic of Politics
 
Some of the Places I've Lectured Recently
  American Institute for Economic Research
  Association of Private Enterprise, Las Vegas
  Association of Private Enterprise Education, Nassau Bahamas
  Australia National University
  Baylor University
  Bryn Mawr College
  Cato Institute
  College of Charleston
  Colorado Christian University
  Conservative Political Action Committee, Washington DC
  Dartmouth College
  Duquesne University
  Emporia State University
  Florida Gulf Coast University
  Florida State University
  Foundation for Economic Education, Atlanta
  Furman University
  George Mason University
  Georgetown University
  Gettysburg College
  Grove City College
  Independent Institute Summer Seminar
  Institute Bruno Leoni, Sestri Levante, Italy
  Institute for Humane Studies
  Institute for Humane Studies, Bryn Mawr
  Institute for Economic Affairs
  Kansas State University
  Kennesaw State University
  Kenyon College
  Kings College, London
  Loyola University, New Orleans
  Ludwig Von Mises Institute
  Mercer University
  Metropolitan State College, Denver
  Michigan State University
  Mont Pelerin Society
  New York University
  New York University Abu Dhabi Campus
  Ohio State University
  Penn State Erie
  Providence College
  San Jose State University
  Santa Clara University
  Stanford University
  Southern Economics Association, New Orleans
  Southern Methodist University
  Students for Liberty Dallas Regional Conference
  Texas Public Policy Foundation
  The Free Market Road Show, in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia
  The Adam Smith Institute
  The Independent Institute
  Troy State University
  Trinity College
  University of Alaska Fairbanks
  University of Louisville
  University of New England
  University of Texas El Paso
  University of Texas Pan-American
  University of the Ozarks
  Ursinus College
  Wake Forest University
  Ursinus College
  West Texas A&M University
  Western Kentucky University
  Wheeling Jesuit University
 
 
     
 
 
 
     
 
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Copyright © 2024
Benjamin Powell, Ph.D.
Texas Tech University, Executive Director, The Free Market Institute
The Indpendent Institute, Senior Fellow
Lubbock, Texas
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