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

Hail Ron Paul and Mike Gravel

"I saw Ron Paul last week in the Republican debates. He was good, but everybody else ignores what he says." This is from an e-mail I received from an economist friend who is a liberal Democrat. I responded, "Everybody except the viewers. He won the poll afterward, getting 43 percent. MSNBC reported it and then … Continue reading “Hail Ron Paul and Mike Gravel”

A Capitalist Peace With China

Many people, including many of my students at the Naval Postgraduate School, worry that economic growth in China will make China a formidable competitor to the United States. My students typically raise this concern when we talk about free trade, and they worry about people in China "taking our jobs." I manage to assuage this … Continue reading “A Capitalist Peace With China”

How Much Is the Iraq War Costing You?

In a previous article, “How Much is the Iraq War Costing You? Part 1,” I laid out the facts and figures about the monetary cost of the Iraq war to U.S. taxpayers, assuming conservatively a low-end estimate of annual spending on the Iraq war. I concluded that the main American residents paying for the war … Continue reading “How Much Is the Iraq War Costing You?”

Working With the Left
on the War

(Author’s note: I had planned to write “How Much is the Iraq War Costing You? Part 2” for this week, but due to the timeliness of what I discuss below, I’ll delay Part 2 until April.) As a libertarian who has generally focused on economic issues – I am an economist, after all – I … Continue reading “Working With the Left
on the War”

How Much Is the War on Iraq Costing You?

How much is the U.S. war on Iraq costing you? That depends on who you are. For Iraqis, Americans, or Brits who were killed, it cost them everything. I say it in that order because that is the order in numbers killed. So far, a conservative estimate of the number of Iraqi civilians killed in … Continue reading “How Much Is the War on Iraq Costing You?”

Does War Make Presidents Great?

Today is Presidents’ Day in the United States. It’s a holiday declared by the federal government to celebrate the birthdays of two presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. George Washington is often called "the father of our country," and for good reason. Without his having led soldiers in the fight for independence from the British, … Continue reading “Does War Make Presidents Great?”

Should We Judge Government?

Recently I ran into a colleague from the Naval Postgraduate School, where I teach, and got into an interesting conversation. It highlighted the differences between how I think of the world and how many pro-U.S. government people, and pro-government people in general, think of the world. That’s why I’m sharing it with you. I’m not … Continue reading “Should We Judge Government?”

Ford: A Lincoln and an Imperial(ist)

One of the late Gerald Ford’s favorite sayings during his first few weeks of office was that he was "a Ford, not a Lincoln." Ford meant it as a statement of his humility. Ford’s humility was, in fact, one of his best character traits. But in pardoning Richard Nixon a month after becoming president, Ford … Continue reading “Ford: A Lincoln and an Imperial(ist)”