David R. Henderson

David R. Henderson is a research fellow with the Hoover Institution and an emeritus professor of economics in the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is author of The Joy of Freedom: An Economist’s Odyssey and co-author, with Charles L. Hooper, of Making Great Decisions in Business and Life(Chicago Park Press). His latest book is The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (Liberty Fund, 2008). He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, the Jim Lehrer Newshour, CNN, MSNBC, RT, Fox Business Channel, and C-SPAN. He has had over 100 articles published in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Red Herring, Barron’s, National Review, Reason, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Hill, and the Christian Science Monitor. He has also testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. He blogs at http://econlog.econlib.org

Robert Gates, Pro and Con

"I worry that there’s a temptation to overstate the terrorist threat. It is not an existential threat." "Demonizing Islam and demonizing Muslims is self-defeating. It will make the problem worse." These are two of the statements made by former Secretary of Defense and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency Robert Gates at the Naval … Continue reading “Robert Gates, Pro and Con”

Richard Epstein’s Faulty Case for Intervention

My Hoover Institution colleague Richard Epstein recently argued ("Rand Paul’s Fatal Pacifism," Defining Ideas, September 2) for an interventionist foreign policy. Although his attack is on Senator Rand Paul, it is much broader than that. He claims that libertarians are “clueless on the ISIS threat” and that “libertarians often have the illusion of certainty.” I’m … Continue reading “Richard Epstein’s Faulty Case for Intervention”

An Economist’s Case for a Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy

The Naval War College, based in Newport, Rhode Island, runs a special 11-month course for foreign Navy officers. On February 3, the Naval War College held a special morning session at the Hoover Institution, where I am a research fellow. I was invited to speak. The best invites, in my experience, are those for which … Continue reading “An Economist’s Case for a Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy”

Rand’s Stand

Last week, something exciting happened in U.S. politics. It was exciting in itself, and even if nothing else had come of it, it still would have been exciting. But what made it even more exciting is what followed – the reaction to this event that various people at various parts of the political spectrum had. … Continue reading “Rand’s Stand”

The Left’s Antiwar Movement in Monterey: Down but Not Out

There’s no doubt that antiwar activism among the left has declined substantially since Barack Obama became president. That has led many people to claim that the apparent antiwar views of many on the left were not so much antiwar as anti-Bush. I’m sure that there’s something to that, but there’s also a more nuanced explanation. … Continue reading “The Left’s Antiwar Movement in Monterey: Down but Not Out”

Is Leon Panetta a Saint—or a War Criminal?

David R. Henderson’s Introduction: The first part of this article’s title is absurd, right? How could the head of the CIA, a man who sends drones to kill alleged terrorists and ends up killing not only terrorists, but also many innocent people, be a saint? Well, you probably don’t live in the Monterey area. I … Continue reading “Is Leon Panetta a Saint—or a War Criminal?”

Adm. Mullen’s Spinning vs. Prof. Hayek’s Insight

Introduction In 1945, the flagship journal of the American Economic Review published one of the ten most important economics articles of the 20th century. Entitled “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” it was written by an Austrian economist named Friedrich Hayek. I deal with this article in every economics course I teach. (For the notes … Continue reading “Adm. Mullen’s Spinning vs. Prof. Hayek’s Insight”