Randall G. Holcombe

Biography

Randall G. Holcombe, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Economics from Virginia Polytechnic University in 1976. Dr. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University and taught at Texas A&M University and at Auburn University prior to coming to Florida State in 1988. Dr. Holcombe is also Senior Fellow at the James Madison Institute, a Tallahassee-based think tank that specializes in issues facing state governments, is Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, and is a Research Fellow at the Law & Economics Center at George Mason University. He served on Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2000 to 2006, and is past president of the Public Choice Society and the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics. Dr. Holcombe is the author of twenty books and more than 200 articles published in academic and professional journals. His books include Political Capitalism: How Economic and Political Power Is Made and Maintained (2018) and Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy (2023).

Education

Ph.D. Economics 1976, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

M.A. Economics 1974, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Awards & Honors

Later-Career Research Award, College of Social Science and Public Policy, Florida State University, 2024.

Distinguished Scholar Award, Association for Private Enterprise Education, 2024.

American Book Fest 2020 International Book Award Winner (History: United States) for Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History (Oakland, CA: Independent Institute, 2019).

Best Article Award, Atlantic Economic Journal, awarded October 12, 1996.

Georgescu-Roegen Prize in Economics for the best article in the Southern Economic Journal in the past year, awarded November 22, 1992.

Professional Experience

Member, Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors, 2000 to 2006.

Research Activities

Specialization: Public Sector Economics

Selected Publications

Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Coordination, Cooperation, and Control: The Evolution of Economic and Political Power. London: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2020.

Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History. Oakland, CA: 2019.

Independent Institute, Political Capitalism: How Economic and Political Power is Made and Maintained. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Producing Prosperity: An Inquiry Into the Operation of the Market Process. London: Routledge, 2013.