Donald J. Boudreaux
Credentials
Background
Donald J. Boudreaux is an economist and the current Director of the Center for the Study of Public Choice.
He was previously Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia from 2001 to 2009.
He was the president of a New York-based free market think-tank called the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) from 1997 to 2001.
Stance on Climate Change
“Those of us who recognize these important benefits of capitalism … are reluctant to yield power to governments to tackle global warming… . [I]t’s a perfectly legitimate stance for truly reasonable people to conclude that the best policy regarding global warming is to neglect it — and let capitalism continue to make us healthier and wealthier.” (emphasis added) [2]
Key Quotes
“So confident am I that the number of deaths from violent storms will continue to decline that I challenge Mr. McKibben—or Al Gore, Paul Krugman, or any other climate-change doomsayer—to put his wealth where his words are. I’ll bet $10,000 that the average annual number of Americans killed by tornadoes, floods and hurricanes will fall over the next 20 years. Specifically, I’ll bet that the average annual number of Americans killed by these violent weather events from 2011 through 2030 will be lower than it was from 1991 through 2010.” [3]
Key Deeds
February 2008
Boudreaux was a speaker at the 2008 First International Conference on Climate change (ICC1), an event hosted by the Heartland Institute.
His speech, titled “The Environment in Economic and Historical Perspective,” can be viewed below. [4]
Affiliations
- Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) — Adjunct Analyst. [5]
- The Cato Institute — Adjunct Scholar. [6]
- Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) — President, 1997 – 2001. [7]
- The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) — Past speaker at FFF-sponsored events. [1]
- The Independent Institute (TII) — Research fellow. [8]
- Virginia Institute of Public Policy — Sits on the “Board of Scholars.” [9]
Publications
Donald J. Boudreaux has published some articles in peer-reviewed publications in the area of economics. According to a search of Google Scholar, he has never published a peer-reviewed article in the area of climate.
Boudreaux has published numerous newspaper articles in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Regulation, Reason, Ideas on Liberty, The Washington Times, The Journal of Commerce, the Cato Journal, and several scholarly journals on economics.
Sample Articles
- Donald J. Boudreaux. “The case for neglecting global warming,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 13, 2006.
- “More Weather Deaths? Wanna Bet?” The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2011.
Resources
- “Speakers at FFF Events,” The Future of Freedom Foundation. Archived February 12, 2006.
- “CEI Expert: ‘The Best Policy Regarding Global Warming Is To Neglect It’,” ThinkProgress, August 15, 2006.
- “Skeptic Don Boudreaux: Let’s Make Global Warming Bet,” OpposingViews, May 31, 2011.
- “2008 International Conference on Climate Change: Video,” The Heartland Institute. Archived May 7, 2009.
- “Donald J. Boudreaux: Adjunct Analyst,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived July 28, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vFaPr
- “Donald J. Boudreaux: Adjunct Scholar,” Cato Institute. Accessed November 30, 2011.
- “Faculty and Staff: Donald J. Boudreaux,” George Mason University. Accessed November 30, 2011.
- “Research Fellow: Donald J. Boudreaux,” The Independent Institute. Accessed November 30, 2011.
- “Board of Scholars,” Virginia Institute for Public Policy. Accessed November 30, 2011.
- ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Donald J. Boudreaux.
- “Donald J. Boudreaux,” SourceWatch profile.
