ISPE’s Founding Director Dr. Steven G. Horwitz died on June 27, 2021, after a nearly four–year courageous battle with multiple myeloma.
“Steve was an extraordinary economics scholar and researcher, but he would tell you he was a teacher first,” said Todd Nesbit, Assistant Professor of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Economics. “He loved teaching, and was eagerly anticipating return of students to campus this fall. Steve inspired us with his positivity about how the work of exploring ideas can bring about prosperity for all. He was particularly interested in seeking how best to empower those who have been historically marginalized.”
Horwitz was memorialized on social media by colleagues and friends around the globe, many of whom had never met him in person, but regarded him as a teacher, mentor, and friend.
On forbes.com, Art Carden remembered Horwitz as “a dedicated scholar, a passionate teacher, a good friend, and an insightful mentor.” Trevor Burrus, research fellow in the Cato Institute, called him “the great libertarian economist and my friend … a teacher, a father, a husband, a communicator, a mentor, a Rush fan, a scholar, a writer, a pontificator, and much more.”
Steven Horwitz was Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise in the Department of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Political Economy in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He had a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and an AB in Economics and Philosophy from The University of Michigan.
Horwitz is the author of four books, Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order (Westview, 1992), Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective (Routledge, 2000), Hayek's Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), and Austrian Economics: An Introduction (Cato Institute, 2020). He has written extensively on Austrian economics, Hayek's political economy, monetary theory and history, and American economic history. His work has been published in professional journals such as History of Political Economy, Southern Economic Journal, and The Cambridge Journal of Economics.
Horwitz was an Affiliated Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Center in Arlington, VA, a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute in Canada, and Economics Editor at the Cato Institute's libertarianism.org project. A guest on numerous radio and cable TV shows, he was the 2020 recipient of the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. Horwitz was a guest speaker to professional, student, policymaker, and general audiences throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Asia, and South America. He was also Dana Professor of Economics Emeritus at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, where he taught for 28 years.
“Steve was really proud of the work of the Institute for the Study of Political Economy,” said Nesbit. “ISPE is proud to continue to expand our research and public events in Steve’s honor.”
To that end, ISPE hosted the inaugural “Horwitz Nobel Prize Panel” in December 2021. A panel of faculty members from across the Ball State campus discussed the 2021 Nobel Award honorees and their achievements. A Summer 2022 conference for economics faculty will build upon the intellectual foundations of Dr. Steve Horwitz, including research related to Austrian economic thought, monetary theory, political economy, human progress, and the importance of liberal institutions.
Dr. Horwitz’s wife, Sarah Skwire, donated his collection of books to ISPE, which are the foundation of the Institute’s collection of research materials for faculty and students.
