William F. Shughart II

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William F. Shughart II
William F. Shughart.jpg
Shughart in 2018
Born (1947-12-03) December 3, 1947 (age 78)
EducationPh.D in Economics
Alma mater Texas A&M University
OccupationsEconomist, professor, author
Employer Utah State University
TitleJ. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice

William Franklin Shughart II (born December 3, 1947) is an American economist. [1] He is the J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, [2] and a Distinguished Research Advisor and senior fellow at the Independent Institute. [3] He has served as the editor-in-chief of Public Choice (until 2022), [4] senior associate editor of the Southern Economic Journal , and associate editor of the Independent Review . [5]

Contents

Education

Shughart completed his B.A. in economics in 1969 followed by M.S. in economics in 1970 from Texas A&M University. [6] In 1973, as part of his military service, he worked as a courier for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as a systems analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses (now CNA Corp.). After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy, he received his Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University. [7] [8]

Career

Right after completing his Ph.D., Shughart taught at the University of Arizona in 1978–1979. He then worked at the Federal Trade Commission as a staff economist. [9] In 1982, he left his position as the special assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission to join Clemson University as an assistant professor. [10]

Shughart left Clemson University in 1985 and joined George Mason University as an associate professor of economics and a research associate at the Center for Study of Public Choice. Three years later, he left George Mason University and started teaching at the University of Mississippi. [11] At the University of Mississippi, he was appointed to the P.M.B. Self, William King Self and Henry C. Self Free Enterprise Chair. [12] In 1998, he was named an F.A.P Barnard Distinguished Professor and held a Robert M. Hearin Chair at the University of Mississippi.

In 2011, Shughart became professor emeritus at the University of Mississippi and was appointed as J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. [13]

Shughart has served the Southern Economic Association for most of his academic career, being a rank-and-file member and board member for many years before becoming the President of the Association for the 2009 term. [14] He also serves as the senior associate editor of the Southern Economic Journal since 2012. [15] In 2013, he was appointed as an associate editor of The Independent Review and as the research director of The Independent Institute. [16]

Work

Shughart has authored 10 books. He has contributed chapters to 65 books and has published over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has written columns in outlets such as Wall Street Journal , Los Angeles Times , Philadelphia Inquirer , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Detroit News , San Francisco Chronicle , Washington Times , Fortune , [17] Business Week , Investor's Business Daily , [18] and National Post . [19] Shughart was a long-term collaborator with Robert Tollison (1942–2016), with whom he published over 60 articles. [20]

Much of Shughart's work has been focused on industrial organization, also the subject of his first textbook, The Organization of Industry, published in 1990. Aside from industrial organization, much of his work in the 1980s and 1990s was focused on tax policy, education reform and college sports. His second book, Antitrust Policy and Interest-Group Politics, was also published in 1990. [21]

In 1997, Shughart edited the book Taxing Choice: The Predatory Politics of Fiscal Discrimination. [22] He co-authored the 1998 book The Political Economy of the New Deal with Jim Couch, one of his University of Mississippi doctoral students. [23]

In the late 2000s, energy policy also become a recurring topic in his research. [24] [25]

Awards and honors

Books

Selected papers

References

  1. "William F. Shughart II: Springing forward is a waste of time". Arizona Daily Star. 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  2. "Top Economist Now at USU". The Huntsman Post.
  3. Boyd, Lindsay. "Research Fellow and Economist, William Shughart, to join Utah State University: News Release". Independent Institute. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  4. "Public Choice". Public Finance. 2024.
  5. "William F. Shughart II: The Independent Institute". Independent Institute.
  6. Eaton, Steve (2011-06-23). "World-Renowned Economist Joins Utah State University". Utah State Today. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  7. "William F. Shughart". Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
  8. "Distinguished Economics Professor to be Installed As President-Elect of Southern Economics Assn". The University of Mississippi – College of Liberal Arts.
  9. Pugh, Elaine. "New Barnard Professors Named at Ole Miss' Oxford Campus". eGROVE.
  10. "Full Text of Shughart William CV".
  11. Larimer, Terry (1991-10-30). "How About Giving Degree in Football?". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on 2019-05-26.
  12. "William Franklin Shughart". The University of Mississippi.
  13. "Bill Shughart, First J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice". Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
  14. "Past Southern Economic Association Presidents" (PDF). Southern Economic Association.
  15. "Editorial Board". Wiley Online Library. doi:10.1002/(ISSN)2325-8012.
  16. "Staff and Editorial Board". Independent Institute. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  17. "How Banning Plastic Straws Could Make Pollution Even Worse". Fortune.
  18. "IRS Scandal Is Nothing New — It's Always Been A Political Weapon". Investor's Business Daily. 23 May 2013.
  19. "Bill Shughart, First J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice". Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
  20. "Robert D. Tollison – In Memoriam" (PDF). Independent Institute.
  21. "Antitrust Skeptic's Bibliography". Competitive Enterprise Institute. 13 April 2006.
  22. Cordato, Roy; II, William F. Shughart. "Taxing Choice: The Predatory Politics of Fiscal Discrimination". fee.org. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  23. "The Political Economy of the New Deal". www.e-elgar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  24. "America's Increasingly Fragile Electric Grid – William F. Shughart II". Energy Central. 14 December 2018.
  25. "Oil And 911 – The Connection". History News Network. 23 September 2002.
  26. "William Franklin Shughart". The University of Mississippi.
  27. "Top Economist Now at USU". Constant Contact.
  28. "Distinguished Fellows". ©Southern Economic Association. 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  29. Shughart, William (2021). "Antitrust Agonistes". Journal of Law, Economics & Policy. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3947104. Archived from the original on 2025-01-24.