Sin, Virtue and Rent-Seeking at the Cato Institute

Have public choice economists adopted fatalism?

While economists have produced a rich theory of “sin,” they have neglected an offsetting theory of “virtue.”  Public choice economists frequently use Bruce Yandle’s “Baptists and Bootleggers” model, recognizing that public policy change in market democracies often requires both a moral argument and an economic one. Yet, when examining policy actions, only “sinful” alliances are discussed. Traditional public choice theorists over-emphasize the practice of rent-seeking.

RSVP to Elissa Hagans [email protected]

Virtuous Capitalism: Why There Is Less Corruption in Business than You Think
A lunch roundtable with Fred Smith and Ryan Young

November 5, 2015
Noon to 1:30pm

The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20001