Walter Block
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Walter Block (born 1941) is a leading free market economist often associated with the Austrian School.
Block was born in Brooklyn, New York to Abraham Block, a certified public accountant, and Ruth Block, a paralegal. He took his undergraduate degree in Philosophy (with honors) from Brooklyn College where he was a member of the varsity swimming team. He became a libertarian after a personal meeting with Ayn Rand. Block earned his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and wrote his dissertation on rent control. He lives with his wife in his homes in New Orleans, Louisiana and Vancouver, British Columbia and has two adult children.
Block now holds the Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University in New Orleans. From 1998-2002 he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute. In addition to his faculty position, Block is also a Senior Faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics. His most famous work is Defending the Undefendable. Block is considered to be one of the principal economists and thinkers of the Austrian School and anarcho-capitalism in general. He has twice been nominated to serve as a Trustee of Columbia University.
Prior to entering graduate school, Block worked as a columnist for Business Week before becoming a real estate investor in New York. In 1983 Block was part of a group of investors who led the development of 2nd Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Block is listed as a distinguished alumnus of Columbia University [1].
Contents |
Books
=As author:
- Defending the Undefendable (1976; translated into Chinese, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian languages) ISBN 0930073053
- A Response to the Framework Document for Amending the Combines Investigation Act (1982)
- Focus on Economics and the Canadian Bishops (1983)
- Focus on Employment Equity: A Critique of the Abella Royal Commission on Equality in Employment (with Michael A. Walker; 1985)
- The U.S. Bishops and Their Critics: An Economic and Ethical Perspective (1986)
- Lexicon of Economic Thought(with Michael A. Walker; 1988)
- Economic Freedom of the World, 1975-1995 (with James Gwartney, Robert Lawson; 1996)
- Privatize Roads and Highways. Now! (forthcoming)
As editor:
- Zoning: Its Costs and Relevance for the 1980s (Ed.; 1980)
- Rent Control: Myths & Realities (Ed. with Edgar Olsen; 1981)
- Discrimination, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1982)
- Taxation: An International Perspective (Ed. with Michael A. Walker; 1984)
- Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation (Ed.; 1985; translated into Portuguese 1992) ISBN 088975067X
- Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives (Ed. with Geoffrey Brennan, Kenneth Elzinga; 1985)
- Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice (Ed. with Donald Shaw; 1985)
- Reaction: The New Combines Investigation Act (Ed.; 1986)
- Religion, Economics & Social Thought (Ed. with Irving Hexham; 1986)
- Man, Economy and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard (Ed. with Lew Rockwell; 1988)
- Breaking the Shackles; the Economics of Deregulation: A Comparison of U.S. and Canadian Experience (Ed. with George Lermer; 1991)
- Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement (Ed.; 1991)
- Libertarian Autobiographies (Ed.; forthcoming)