Topics: Miller College of Business, Faculty

June 30, 2021

Steven Horwitz

With great sadness, the Miller College of Business at Ball State University announces the death of Steven G. Horwitz, Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise in the Department of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Political Economy (ISPE). Dr. Horwitz died Sunday, June 27, 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 Dr. Todd Nesbit, Assistant Professor of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Economics at Ball State. "He loved teaching and was eagerly anticipating the return of students to campus this Fall. Steve inspired us with his positivity about how exploring ideas can bring about prosperity for all. He was particularly interested in seeking how best to empower those who have been historically marginalized."

Dr. 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 Dr. Horwitz as "a dedicated scholar, a passionate teacher, a good friend, and an insightful mentor." Trevor Burrus, a 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."

Dr. Horwitz was Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise in the Department of Economics at Ball State. He also was the Director of the Institute for the Study of Political Economy in the Miller College of Business. He had a PhD in Economics from George Mason University and an AB in Economics and Philosophy from The University of Michigan.

Dr. Horwitz was 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.

Dr. Horwitz's work has been published in professional journals such as History of Political Economy, Southern Economic Journal, and The Cambridge Journal of Economics.

Dr. 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.

Dr. Horwitz was a guest speaker to professional, student, policymaker, and general audiences throughout North America, Europe, Asia, 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," Dr. Nesbit said. "ISPE is proud to continue to expand our research and public events in Steve's honor."

Dr. Horwitz is survived by his beloved wife, Sarah Skwire; father, Ronald; children Andrew Horwitz, Rachel Horwitz, Abigail Waschow, and Penelope Waschow; and his faithful sheepadoodle, Panda. He is also survived by brothers Michael (Laura Marchak) Horwitz, David (Laurie) Horwitz, and Robert (Dr. Amy) Horwitz, and by many nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

A private family service for Dr. Horwitz took place on June 30 in Farmington Hills, Mich. A public celebration of his life will be scheduled for later this summer in Indianapolis.