The Mercatus Institute, “a university-based research center [that] works to advance knowledge about how markets work to improve our lives,” has a web page devoted to research on Hurricane Katrina. Questions explored by the Mercatus researchers include: How did New Orleans communities that have recovered since Katrina do so? What effect did social entrepreneurship have on their recovery? What kinds of government policies could facilitate a quicker recovery from future disasters? Among the experts featured are two CEE Guest Speakers, Emily Chamlee-Wright and Steven Horwitz.

Watch our video interview with Dr. Chamlee-Wright in which she talks about her research on some of the above issues.

Also, watch our interview with Dr. Horwitz on the role of Wal-Mart in New Orleans’ recovery.

Finally, explore Mercatus’ fascinating website here.

Entrepreneurship is all about rethinking the old way of doing things, so let’s start off the New Year by reading about ten breakthrough ideas for 2010 at Harvard Business Review. Some of the interesting issues explored by the authors are: What truly motivates employees? Can we create a better model for the pharmaceutical business? How can we speed up the process by which innovative research makes it to the marketplace? And, what lessons can we learn about productivity from hackers?

How can we create more jobs?

“The conventional wisdom is that [small] businesses account for half of the labor force and are therefore the engine of future job creation. That’s not quite the case. The more precise factor is not the size of businesses, but rather their age,” say Carl Schramm, Robert Litan, and Dane Stangler.

Read the rest at the Wall Street Journal.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published the 2009 edition of its international study, “Measuring Entrepreneurship.” According to the OECD website, this study is an attempt to better understand “the drivers of entrepreneurship” and “the links between entrepreneurship and its potential impacts.” The study explores such issues as the birth and death rates of enterprises, the number of innovative products created by small and large firms, and how easily entrepreneurs can access start up capital.

Read the report at OECD’s homepage.

Anja Hartleb-Parson, CEE’s Research & Publications Manager, talks with Fall 2009 guest speaker Joshua Hall about his presentation on “The Dilemma of School Finance Reform.” Professor Hall explains why we are spending more on public education over time but may not be getting our money’s worth. Watch the video below.

Dr. Stephen Hicks, CEE’s Executive Director, talks with Dr. Jerry Kirkpatrick, a Fall 2009 CEE guest speaker, about his book, In Defense of Advertising. Dr. Kirkpatrick addresses several typical criticisms of advertising and explains why advertising is important to a healthy, productive capitalist society.

Watch Parts I & II of the interview below.

Part I:

Below is a two-part interview wherein CEE’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Hicks, talks with Fall 2009 Guest Speaker Timothy Sandefur about the contrasting views of the Progressives and the Founding Fathers on liberty and human rights, how the Progressive agenda has led to an increase in political entrepreneurship, and philosophy’s role in stimulating positive changes in our political system.

Part I:

Part II:

The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship is proud to announce its guest speakers for Fall 2009:

Timothy Sandefur

“Market Entrepreneurs and Political Entrepreneurs: Some Legal and Constitutional Issues”

September 16, 6 pm, SCAR 220

Timothy Sandefur is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm based in Sacramento, California. He is the author of Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America and has written for The San Francisco Chronicle.

Jerry Kirkpatrick

“The Importance of Philosophy to a Successful Business Career”

October 27, 6 pm, SCAR 204

“Montessori and Dewey as Educational Philosophers”

October 28, 6 pm, STARR 223

Jerry Kirkpatrick is Professor of International Business & Marketing at California State Polytechnic University. He is the author of In Defense of Advertising and a book on educational philosophy and public policy: Montessori, Dewey, and Capitalism.

Joshua Hall

“The Dilemma of School Finance Reform”

October 13, 6 pm, Grace Roper Lounge

November 11, 6 pm, STARR 223

Joshua Hall is Assistant Professor of Economics at Beloit College. His articles have appeared in such publications as the Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, the Journal of Economics and Politics, and The Independent Review.

Also, click here to view the PDF of our flyer.

Below is a two-part interview of CEE’s executive director Dr. Stephen Hicks with Spring 2009 CEE guest speaker Dr. David Mayer about his forthcoming book, entitled “Freedom’s Constitution,” which focuses on his libertarian interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

Part I

Part II

During the Fall 2007 semester, the Center offered prizes for the best two student projects in Professors Hicks and Rezazadeh’s Capitalism in the Modern World course. The projects involved researching a country’s political and economic history, and students were judged on the basis of the quality of their analysis and the effectiveness of their presentations, both oral and written. The winners, Paul Lindsay and Emily Wallen, received $300 each. Below are brief video clip excerpts of their presentations.

Paul Lindsay on Venezuela

Emily Wallen on Japan