Lecture Sponsored by The Shelby Cullom Davis Endowment
What: Russell S. Sobel, professor of economics and the James Clark Coffman Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at West Virginia University, will deliver a talk entitled, “Economic Freedom, Entrepreneurship, and the Wealth of Nations.” The lecture is sponsored by the Shelby Cullom Davis Endowment. This event is free and open to the public.
When: Tuesday, March 10 at 8:30 p.m.
Where: McCook Auditorium on the campus of Trinity College
300 Summit Street, Hartford, Conn., 06106
Background: In keeping with concerns about today’s global economic crisis, Sobel’s lecture will explore the current status of entrepreneurship and how it has changed over time. The lecture will also focus on the topic of international standards of living.
Sobel received his Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University in 1994. His expertise is public economics, with a particular emphasis on public choice, entrepreneurship, natural disasters (FEMA), economic policy, and free-market philosophy. He is also interested in legislative behavior, international organizations, and constitutional economics.
Sobel gives annual lectures on the principles of economics for the U.S. Congressional Staff, the Institution for Research on the Economics of Taxation, and the Liberty Fund. Sobel's work on the economics of FEMA received national attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, including articles in The New York Times and Washington Post and a presentation to FEMA management. He has also been the recipient of teaching honors, including the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association and the John R. Williams Outstanding Teacher Award from the WVU Honors Program.
Sobel’s work has been published in numerous journals including The Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Law and Economics, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. His book, Unleashing Capitalism: Why Prosperity Stops at the West Virginia Border and How to Fix It, was the winner of the 2008 Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award given by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Sobel has also co-authored such books as Growth and Variability in State Tax Revenue: An Anatomy of State Fiscal Crises and Economics: Private and Public Choice.
Sobel has been given the Association of Private Enterprise Education Distinguished Scholar Award and the College of Business and Economics Award for Outstanding Research. He was most recently named winner of the WVU College of Business & Economics Outstanding Outreach and Service Award for 2008. Sobel also serves on the advisory boards of several professional and academic organizations including the Institute for Research on Economics of Taxation, the Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation, the Dobson Center for the Study of Markets & Entrepreneurship and the Association for Private Enterprise Education. He serves as Senior Economist and Director of the Center for Economic Growth for The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia.