I've taken much of the week to catch up on routine work and family obligations (it's the play offs!) after the Summer Institute at George Mason University. Returned here on Sunday 16th. I'll have plenty more to say as I get a chance. The program is here. I am of course no impartial spectator, but nonetheless I'll claim that the papers and the collection of participants made the institute a tremendous success. In particular, I'd note the following.
This year, we tried 2 experiments and both paid off. First, we began the institute with a conversation between two leading scholars at GMU whose ideas are now fair game for historians of economics, Gordon Tullock and James Buchanan, on writing their Calculus of Consent. Second, consistent with the Summer Institute's mission to support student research, we broadened "student" this year to include undergraduate presentations. Keeley Reed and Andrew Hickner presented research conducted at Michigan State University, and Bobby Previti presented his work done at City College, London. Judging by the quality of the presentations as well as the comments from the audience, all three were a resounding success.
A few notes of interest about the SI: we had some 65 participants on Monday. Participants throughout the week came from 6 countries in all, and 23 institutions. The variety was immense. We had 28 presenters, comprised of
17 new presenters to SI (11 returning); 5 countries (France, Chile, Australia, England, US); 9 young scholars (3 undergraduates, 4 graduate students, 2 recent PhDs), (I count myself as American here though of course I'm originally Canadian!)
Young scholar (recent PhD, graduate and undergraduate) presenters were from:
City College London (undergraduate); Exeter University (graduate student); Michigan State University (2 undergraduates);Notre Dame University (graduate student); SUNY Plattsburg (recent PhD);Université de Paris I (recent PhD)
Additional students attended the Institute from:
Australia National University ;Baldwin-Wallace College;Colorado State University;Dickinson College; George Mason University; Indiana University of PA; Michigan State University; the New School; St. Gallen University (Switzerland); University of Maryland at BC.
I've been collecting up comments from student and faculty participants. Many of them have picked up on a key feature of the Summer Institute, one that I think has its roots (perhaps) in what is now known as the Virginia School of Political Economy. David Levy and I are working on a talk / paper that we'll give at the fall ECHE conference: on place in economics. (The "place" we're studying is Virginia.) All sorts of reports of the early years for the VA school suggest an egalitarian set up for the discussion of ideas: good ideas on what became known as public choice possibly emerging from anyone, full professor or student. The Summer Institute continues this thinking, creating a place where bright and engaged students -- undergraduates and graduate students alike -- can interact with full professors and senior persons such as James Buchanan. Gordon Tullock, Joe Persky, and David Levy. Here is one comment from a participant who surely picked up on this feature of the Institute (she's not the only one who made this case):
The Summer Institute was a great experience. You and David Levy have
succeeded in creating a space where people can speak in an informal
manner about thoughtful issues in economics, and where we can also get
to know one another. You've managed to include many senior economists,
while yet letting unknown people like myself feel free to speak--in
truth, I don't think that I have found any other forum like that in
economics, and I have missed it.
What David and I have concluded, based on the Virginia School research relating to the early years of the VA School, is that the egalitarianism may generate a more robust network than would otherwise prevail, given similar circumstances. Certainly the Summer Institute network -- ever growing and rather committed -- is a robust network and that robustness may be a result of the egalitarianism noted by the participant above (as well as many others).
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