Bryan Caplan

Bryan Douglas Caplan (born April 8, 1971) is an American economist and author. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a former contributor to the Freakonomics blog.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He currently publishes his own blog, Bet on It.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Caplan is a self-described "economic libertarian".<ref name="i.chose.liberty">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Rp</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The bulk of Caplan's academic work is in behavioral economics and public economics, especially public choice theory.<ref name = franchise>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Early life and education

Caplan was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Northridge, California, on April 8, 1971.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He obtained a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993 and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 1997.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

The Myth of the Rational Voter

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, published in 2007, further develops the "rational irrationality" concept from Caplan's earlier academic writing. It draws heavily from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy in making the argument that voters have systematically biased beliefs about many important economic topics. Caplan writes that rational irrationality is an explanation for the failure of democracy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The book was reviewed in the popular press, including The Wall Street Journal,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and The New Yorker,<ref name = franchise/> as well as in academic publications such as the Journal of Libertarian Studies,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Public Choice,<ref name=LomaskyReview>Template:Cite journal</ref> Libertarian Papers,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Independent Review.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It received a disparaging critique by Rupert Read in the European Review.<ref name=Read2010>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids

In 2011, Caplan published his second book, titled Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, arguing that people often work too hard in child-rearing, and as a result, they are scared of the idea of having children. Caplan's book urged parents to relax with respect to child-rearing. The book argues that as the perceived costs (in terms of child-rearing expense and effort) of having children fell, it made sense to have more children based on the basic theory of supply and demand.<ref name="parenting.harder">Template:Cite news</ref> The book was reviewed in The Wall Street Journal,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Guardian,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> RealClearMarkets,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Washington Times.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It also led to debates sponsored by The Wall Street Journal<ref name=carroll-wilkinson-wsj-debate>Template:Cite news</ref> and The Guardian.<ref name=caplan-chua-guardian-debate/> The Guardian had Caplan debating "Tiger Mom" Amy Chua on the merits of strict parenting style.<ref name=caplan-chua-guardian-debate>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The book was also featured in a story on National Public Radio.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kirkus Reviews described it as "inconsistent and unpersuasive."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

"The Ideological Turing Test"

In a June 2011 blog post titled "The Ideological Turing Test" contesting Paul Krugman's claim that political liberals can accurately state conservatives' views but not vice versa, Caplan proposed a test analogous to a kind of Turing test: instead of judging whether a chatbot had accurately imitated a person, the test would judge whether a person had accurately stated the views of ideological opponents to the opponents' satisfaction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Galef>Template:Cite book</ref> Other writers have since said of someone that they can (or can't) "pass an ideological Turing test" if they are deemed to be capable (or incapable) of understanding and accurately stating an adversary's arguments.<ref name=Galef/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Case Against Education

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money was published in 2018 by Princeton University Press. Drawing on the economic concept of job market signaling and research in educational psychology, the book argues that much of higher education is very inefficient and has only a small effect in improving human capital, contrary to much of the conventional consensus in labor economics that Caplan claims takes the human capital theory for granted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Caplan and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal cartoonist Zach Weinersmith created the graphic non-fiction book Open Borders: the Science and Ethics of Immigration, which was released on October 29, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Tyler Cowen called it "a landmark in economic education, how to present economic ideas, and the integration of economic analysis and graphic visuals."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Economist praised it as "a model of respectful, persuasive argument".<ref name="veconomist" >Template:Cite news</ref> Kevin D. Williamson, writing in National Review, concluded a review of the book with "Professor Caplan's argument is multifaceted, energetically presented, fun to read, and worth giving some real attention to if only as an exercise in clarifying one's own thinking about the question".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Williamson said that the book was "fun to read" and well-presented but that Caplan did not address some obvious counterarguments against open borders and suggested that he oversimplified the issue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Labor Econ Versus the World

In 2022, Caplan published Labor Econ Versus the World: Essays on the World's Greatest Market, a collection of his essays from the publication EconLog edited by Jack Pfefferkorn. In it, Caplan argues against minimum wage laws, immigration bans, government spending on education, and Keynesianism.Template:Citation needed

Tyler Cowen wrote a reaction to the book, stating that his disagreement with Caplan is "that most of the inequity occurs upstream of labor markets, through the medium of culture."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Views

Caplan was cited as one of the leading proponents of the open borders position in articles in The Atlantic and Vox.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has also been quoted on the topic of immigration in outlets such as the Huffington Post<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Time magazine.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Caplan's anarcho-capitalist views were discussed by Brian Doherty in his book Radicals for Capitalism and in Reason magazine.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Caplan has argued that anarcho-capitalists have a better claim on the history of anarchist thought than "mainstream anarchists", or "left-anarchists", as he refers to them.Template:Citation needed This argument has been disputed by other anarchists.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Caplan is married to Corina Caplan, with four children, and resides in Oakton, Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bibliography

Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Popular books

• 2007 The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, Template:ISBN
• 2012 Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids, Template:ISBN
• 2018 The Case against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money, Template:ISBN

Essay collections

• 2022 Labor Econ Versus the World: Essays on the World's Greatest Market, Template:ISBN
• 2022 How Evil Are Politicians?: Essays on Demagoguery, Template:ISBN
• 2022 Don't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice, Template:ISBN
• 2023 Voters as Mad Scientists: Essays on Political Irrationality, Template:ISBN
• 2023 You Will Not Stampede Me: Essays on Non-Conformism, Template:ISBN
• 2024 Self-Help Is Like a Vaccine: Essays on Living Better, Template:ISBN

Graphic books

• 2019 Open Borders: the Science and Ethics of Immigration (illustrations by Zach Weinersmith), Template:ISBN

• 2024 Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation (illustrations by Ady Branzei), Template:ISBN

External links

• Template:Official website
• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

• Template:C-SPAN