Daniel J. Smith

Professor of Economics | Political Economy - Public Choice - History of Economic Thought - Austrian Economics

[Southern Economic Journal @SouthernEconJ]

@BenzecryGabriel of @NorthwoodU and @Smithdanj of @MTSU provide a multi-part argument for studying the history of economic thought. #history #economics https://t.co/6Jnb3pXdU3

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

This signed statement from midwestern economists protesting FDR's Gold Program is interesting both in content and for who did or did not sign it.

Harry Gideonse, in particular, is understudied in HOET. He was at Rutgers when Friedman was an undergraduate, moved to Chicago at the same time Friedman was there (and he was also connected to Columbia because he went there for undergrad), and attended the first Mont Pelerin Society meeting. Despite these strong connections, there is little evidence of interaction between Friedman and Gideonse (Gideonse does not even appear in the index of Jennifer Burns' recent biography of Friedman).

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Cordell Hull criticizing countries for spiking tariffs in ahead of negotiations to lower them:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Milton Friedman selected silver cigarette cases for the winners of a bridge tournament:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

College was much different in 1931. This is the Rutgers student newspaper reporting on cigarettes and refreshments being handed out for an undergradaute smoker event featuring a young Milton Friedman:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Google searches for “how to change oil” have spiked in 2026:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Message from Louis Brandeis to FDR relevant to @realDonaldTrump and @BernieSanders:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

This former socialists knows a thing or two about how nationalization fails:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Coase on regulation:

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Coase: nationalization doesn't work

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

FDA Should Stick to Safety https://t.co/jrHFXdgsLY

[Michael Munger 🏖️🔪👨‍🍳 @mungowitz]

Well....yes.

But there is more ideological diversity in the North Korean Poliburo than in history or English.

It IS actually true that there is very little methodological diversity in economics. That's also true in STEM disciplines. Is it RIGHT for econ? Hard question.

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Senators, over 70% of whom are millionaires, and heavily influenced by special interest groups, want to hijack the progression of AI away from the direction it would go as dictated by the individual choices of consumers.

[Tony Annett @tonyannett]

The best policy proposal to emerge in a very long time.

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Does the average American have more influence over the progression of AI over their US senators, given the prevalence of special interest groups with access, or as a consumer spending their dollars in the market?

[Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders]

I will soon be introducing a bill to give the public a 50% ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America.

This would guarantee that the trillions created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us �� and block oligarch decisions that harm the American people.

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Poem in The Beaver (LSE Student Newspaper) about economics, featuring Meade, Hayek, Robbins, Stigler, and Boulding (1950). Let's hope the student stuck to economics and not poetry.

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Article in The Beaver (LSE) from 1949:

[American Institute for Economic Research @aier]

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence laid out a bold vision for political liberty and natural rights. That very same year, Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations championed the power of individual initiative in driving economic progress.

How do these two ideas intersect today?

AIER invites full-time North American undergraduate students to explore this profound relationship in the 2026 Douglas B. Rogers Essay Competition.

This Year’s Prompt: To what extent are Adam Smith’s ideas of liberty and individual initiative – rooted in choice, voluntary exchange, and limited government – consistent with and essential to the ideals of liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence?

📆 Submission Deadline: September 15, 2026

All work must be original, have a maximum of 4,000 words, and contain proper citations.

Honoring the legacy of Douglas B. Rogers, PhD, this competition is your chance to research and opine on matters of critical relevance to our future governance.

👉 Read the full guidelines and submit your essay here: https://t.co/2ZJB3KUErN

[Daniel J. Smith @Smithdanj]

Edward Cannan (An Economist's Protest) on the consumer suffering required for a war: