UNITED STATES: Prominent economist, Ed Dolan, turns attention to BIG

Ed Dolan

Economists have written about the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) in one form or another at least since Friedrich Hayek endorsed the idea in 1944. Many leading economists were active in the Guaranteed Income movement in the United States in the 1960s and 70s. They have been a less visible face of the idea in its recent resurgence. That could be changing. This year, one prominent Economist, Ed Dolan, has made BIG a major focus of his writing.

Dolan earned a doctorate in economics from Yale University. He taught at Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, George Mason University and Gettysburg College. From 1990 to 2001, he taught in Moscow, Russia, where he and his wife founded the American Institute of Business and Economics. Since 2001, he has taught economics in several European countries, including an on-going appointment as visiting professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. His books include Introduction to Economics; Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy; The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics; and Economics of Public Policy.

He has written at least six articles on BIG since January, covering many different aspects of the issue including affordability, political viability, and ideology. His most recent effort, a two-part article on the affordability of BIG, sparked an interesting discussion within the economic community of Reddit, with more than 400 contributions. Dolan will take part in BIEN’s AMA series on Basic Income Week, September 15-21.

He’s articles on BIG since January are:

Ed Dolan, “The Economic Case for a Universal Basic Income”, EconoMonitor, January 3, 2014.
Ed Dolan, “Could We Afford a Universal Basic Income”, Economonitor, January 13, 2014
Ed Dolan, “A Universal Basic Income: Conservative, Progressive, and Libertarian Perspectives,” Economonitor, January 27, 2014.
Ed Dolan, “Universal Basic Income: An Idea Whose Time Has Come”, Real Clear Markets, 6 August 2014
Ed Dolan, “A Universal Basic Income and Work Incentives. Part 1: Theory”, Economonitor, August 18, 2014
Ed Dolan, “A Universal Basic Income and Work Incentives. Part2: Evidence”, Economonitor, August 25, 2014