Conservatives can’t afford to ignore Academia anymore
This year, two competing academic worldviews are stepping up to help train the next generation of economic, legal and policy personnel. The stakes are high. As we know, personnel is policy and the battle over economic policy is increasingly a battle over institutional talent pipelines.
The first is the Institute for Consumer Financial Choice (ICFC) at the Law and Economics Center, at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. The ICFC will champion rigorous empirical academic research on issues related to consumer choice. No one understands consumers better than consumers themselves.
This Institute will convene scholars, generate actionable research, and engage directly with policymakers. It will provide legislative testimony, publish op-eds, and file amicus briefs to inform courts. It will train the next generation of lawyers and policymakers to view markets as powerful ways to solve problems. Some of them will carry that mindset into government.