Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process

(Charleston, SC) The College of Charleston has announced the formation of the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process, made possible by a generous gift from BB&T.

The purpose of the Initiative is to advance the understanding of the economic, political and moral foundations of a free society. It supports the growth and development of teaching and research, while engaging students and the greater Charleston community.

Economics traditionally focuses on the behavior of firms and consumers and how individuals interact in market settings. Public choice builds on the groundbreaking economic and political theories of Nobel Prize winning economist James Buchanan extending the tools of economics to analyze the behavior of voters, candidates, legislators, bureaucrats, and the institutions under which they operate.

The Initiative works to to enhance these economic and political theories for students and faculty through a variety of programs:

The BB&T Free Market Process Speaker Series invites speakers to address the underlying principles and institutions of a market economy. Students, faculty, and the greater Charleston community are invited to attend.

The BB&T Free Enterprise Award is a cash prize awarded to the best investigative paper or case study by a student that examines the underpinnings of a capitalistic economy and public choice theory.

The Initiative provides funding for faculty to develop courses that provide a solid understanding of public choice and free enterprise capitalism in the context of economics, business and philosophy. The program will also accept applications from faculty members for research support in the areas of public choice and free enterprise.

For more information, contact Dr. Peter Calcagno in the Department of Economics & Finance, 843-953-4279 or by email at calcagnop@cofc.edu.