Robert Lawson
Full-Time Faculty
Clinical Professor, Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom
Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom Business Economics
| Phone |
214-768-1708 |
| Office |
Bolin-Bridwell 1125 |
| CV |
Education
PhD, Economics, Florida State University
MS, Economics, Florida State University
BS, Economics, Ohio University
Biography
Robert Lawson is a Clinical Professor, the Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom, and director of the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Economics from Florida State University and his B.S. in Economics from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. He previously taught at Auburn University, Capital University, and Shawnee State University.
Dr. Lawson is a founding co-author of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World annual report, which presents an economic freedom index for over 160 countries. Lawson has authored or co-authored over 100 academic publications. With Benjamin Powell, he is co-author of the Amazon Bestseller, Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World (Regnery Publishing). Lawson's research has been cited over 14,000 times according to Google Scholar.
Lawson is past-president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute, and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He has won the Adam Smith Award from the Association of Private Enterprise Education.
Teaching
BUSE 6202 Managerial Economics
BA 6079 Microeconomics
Research
Economic Growth and Development
Public Finance
Publications
Gwartney, J., R. Lawson, and R. Murphy. Economic Freedom of the World: Annual Report. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute.
Lawson, R. and R. Murphy. 2024. “An Investigation into Simple Wagering Strategies in Major League Baseball Moneyline Markets.” Applied Economics.
Niederjohn, S. and R. Lawson. 2024. “Teaching Economics with the ‘Mystery Nations’ Pedagogy: An Educational Note.” Journal of Private Enterprise 39(2):71-79.
Lawson, R., V. Miozzi, and M. Tuszynski. 2024. “Economic Freedom and Growth, Income, Investment, and Inequality: A Quantitative Summary of the Literature.” Southern Economic Journal 90(4): 1099-1135.
Cardazzi, A. and R. Lawson. 2023. “Economic Freedom and One-Way Truck Rental Prices: An Empirical Note.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 82(4): 313-18.
Dean, J. and R. Lawson. 2021. “Who Gains from Economic Freedom? A Panel Analysis of Decile Income Levels.” Economics and Business Letters 10(2): 102-06.
Lawson, K. and R. Lawson. 2020. “Economic Liberalizations Around the World Since 1970: Shock Therapy Versus Gradualism.” Cato Journal 40(3): 665-83.
Lawson, R., R. Murphy, and B. Powell. 2020. “The Determinants of Economic Freedom: A Survey.” Contemporary Economic Policy 38(4): 622-42.