- Associate Professor
- 181 Chafee SSC
- Phone: 401.874.4113
- Email: rvanhorn@uri.edu
Biography
Professor Van Horn received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame (2007), and his B.A. in Law & Society from Malone University (2001). He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University’s Center for the History of Political Economy in the Economics Department (2008-2009). Before coming to URI, he taught at Holy Cross College and the University of Notre Dame. He had the opportunity to create a History of Economic Thought class at Brown University and teach it to graduate and undergraduate students in 2014 and 2015.
Professor Van Horn’s research interests include: 1) the history of Chicago law and economics and neoliberalism; 2) the life and work of Aaron Director—a renowned Chicago economist who is considered the father of Chicago law and economics; 3) the intellectual contributions of Milton Friedman; 4) the role that business has played in the development of economics; 5) best practices in teaching economics; and 6) nonviolence and economics.
He has presented many times at the History of Economics Society Conference and the Center for the History of Political Economy Workshops/Luncheons. He has also presented at the Harvard Business History Seminar and the Hoover Institution. His book, Building Chicago Economics, was the focus of the book session Building Chicago Economics: Beyond Good and Evil at the Social Science History Association Conference. His work in the History of Economics has received the attention of some of the top scholars in the world. For example, a lot of Professor Van Horn’s work is included in Douglas Irwin’s “The Midway and Beyond: Recent Work on Economics at Chicago” in History of Political Economy; see: https://read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article/50/4/735/136708/The-Midway-and-BeyondRecent-Work-on-Economics-at
Professor Van Horn has received prominent grants, such as one from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Some of his work in Economic History, specifically his work on Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx’s time in Manchester, England, has been translated into German.
Education
- Fellow in History of Political Economy, Duke University, 2008-2009
- Ph.D., Economics, University of Notre Dame, 2007
- M.A., Economics, University of Notre Dame, 2003
- B.A., Law & Society (Phi Kappa Delta), Malone University, 2001
Selected Publications
Here is a selection of his recent publications:
2021. “Director, Aaron.” Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. 2nd Edition. Eds. A. Marciano and G. B. Ramello. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
2020. “Engels in Manchester.” Displayed at Historisches Zentrum Wuppertal to Celebrate Its 200th Birthday (with Tiago Mata) [Translated into German]
2020. “Corporations and the Rise of the Chicago Law and Economics Movement” Pro-Market: The Blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. January 15. See: https://promarket.org/corporations-and-the-rise-of-the-chicago-law-and-economics-movement/
2020. “Shattering Hope and Building Empire: Economics the Imperial Science at Chicago, George Stigler and Aaron Director.” in George Stigler: Enigmatic Price Theorist of the Twentieth Century. Ed. Craig Freeman. Palgrave Press. (with Edward Nik Khah)
Here is a selection of his best publications:
2018. “Corporations and the Rise of Chicago Law and Economics.” Economy and Society. 47(3): 477-499.
See: 2020. “Corporations and the Rise of the Chicago Law and Economics Movement” Pro-Market: The Blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. January 15. See: https://promarket.org/corporations-and-the-rise-of-the-chicago-law-and-economics-movement/
2018. Review of Progressive Business by Christian Christiansen in American
Historical Review. 123(3): 964-965.
2017. Symposium on the Contributions of Business to Economics. In History of Political Economy Special Issue, 49(2). Duke University Press. (with Edward Nik Khah)
2017. “Capitalist Threads: Engels the Businessman and Marx’s Capital.” History of Political Economy. 49(2): 207-232. (with Tiago Mata)
See: 2020. “Engels in Manchester.” Displayed at Historisches Zentrum Wuppertal to Celebrate Its 200th Birthday (with Tiago Mata).
[Translated into German]
2012. “Inland Empire.” Journal of Economic Methodology. 19(3): 251-274. (with Nik Khah, Edward)
Reprinting: 2015. “Inland Empire.” Economics Made Fun. Eds. Emrah Aydinonat and Jack Vroment. Routledge Press. (with Nik Khah, Edward)
2011. Building Chicago Economics: New Perspectives on the History of America’s Most Powerful Economics Program. Cambridge University Press. (with Philip Mirowski, and Thomas Stapleford)
2011. “Chicago’s Shifting Position on Concentrations of Business Power.” Seattle University Law Review. 34(4): 1527-1544.
2009. “Reinventing Monopoly and Corporations: The Roots of Chicago Law and Economics.” The Road from Mont Pelerin. Eds. Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plehwe. Harvard University Press.
Reprinting: 2015. “Reinventing Monopoly and Corporations: The Roots of Chicago Law and Economics.” The Road from Mont Pelerin. Updated Edition. Eds. Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plehwe. Harvard University Press.
2009. “The Rise of the Chicago School of Economics.” The Road from Mont Pelerin. Eds. Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plehwe. Harvard University Press. (with Philip Mirowski)
Reprinting: 2015. “The Rise of the Chicago School of Economics.” The Road from Mont Pelerin. Updated Edition. Eds. Philip Mirowski and Dieter Plehwe. Harvard University Press. (with Philip Mirowski)
2005. “The Contract Research Organization and the Commercialization of Science,” Social Studies of Science, 35 (4): 503-48. (with Philip Mirowski)
Here is his CV:
Teaching and Recognition
Professor Van Horn’s teaching interests include: History of Economics and the Law, and History of Economic Thought. Professor Van Horn co-authored a paper on teaching the History of Economic Thought; The Journal of Economic Education published "What Would Adam Smith Have on His Ipod: Using Music to Teach the History of Economic Thought. "Professor Van Horn has an established relationship with the Center for Peace and Nonviolence at URI, and has recently created a Grand Challenge course on Nonviolence and Economics.
Here are some of his noteworthy contributions to teaching:
-He assembled syllabi and instruction materials on teaching the History of Economic
Thought for Center for History of Political Economy, Duke University Economics
Department, 2009-2011. He did this with Tiago Mata and Avi Cohen.
- He wrote an article in Journal of Economic Education on teaching the History of
Economic Thought with Monica Van Horn, 2013. Gail Hoyt and Kim Marie McGoldrick discuss and cite this article in “50 years of economic instruction in the Journal of Economic Education” (2019).
- He taught History of Economic Thought at Brown University to graduate and
undergraduate students in 2014 and 2015.
- He served as an examiner for University of Technology Sydney, Climate Justice
Research Centre for Caroline Colton’s PhD thesis, The Imitation Economy: How
AT&T’s contestability doctrine transformed the neoliberal project (2021).