Title: Broken Windows, Negative Railroads, and Sun-Hating Candlemakers: Modern-Day Applications of Frederic Bastiat's Economic Fables
Department: Economics
Description: In Economics, important principles are rarely explained in an accessible or entertaining way. This project will explore a rare exception to this rule: the fables of 19th-century, economic journalist Claude-Frederic Bastiat. Arguing against the economic policies promoted by his political opponents, Bastiat wrote and published numerous articles and pamphlets for the voting public. In these, he employed educational and humorous fables to both illustrate economic principles (e.g., opportunity cost) and expose policies as non-sensical (e.g., protectionist tariffs). This project will utilize historical and economic methodology, combined with fluency in French, to understand Bastiat, his intellectual and historical context, and his legacy within Economics. Then, this understanding will be used to show how his ideas and methods can be applied in the modern day to render economic knowledge more accessible to the public. Given public policy is ultimately determined by the voting public in a democracy, making economic knowledge more accessible will lead to better economic policy.
Hometown: Winnetka, Illinois
Advisor: Clyde Haulman
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