Dr. David Rose and Dr. Lawrence Reed on Civics and Economics for Hearts and Minds

About our Guests

Dr. Dave Rose is a Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1987 from the University of Virginia. His primary areas of research interest are behavioral economics, political economy, and organization theory. He has published scholarly articles in a wide range of areas. His work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Weldon Spring Foundation, the HFL Foundation, the Earhart Foundation, and the John R. Templeton Foundation. He is currently in his second term on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. In 2008 he received the St. Louis Business Journal’s Economic Educator of the year award. His book, The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior, was selected one of CHOICE’s outstanding titles of 2012. His newest book, Why Culture Matters Most, is also from Oxford University Press. He frequently contributes to policy debates through radio and television interviews as well as in Op-Eds on topics ranging from social security, monetary policy, fiscal policy, judicial philosophy, education reform, healthcare reform, and freedom of speech.

Dr. Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed became President of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in 2008 after serving as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and speaking for FEE since the late 1970s. He previously served for 21 years as President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan (1987-2008). He also taught economics full-time from 1977 to 1984 at Northwood University in Michigan and chaired its department of economics from 1982 to 1984.

In May 2019, he retired to the role of President Emeritus at FEE and assumed the titles of Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Global Ambassador for Liberty.

He holds a B.A. in economics from Grove City College (1975) and an M.A. degree in history from Slippery Rock State University (1978), both in Pennsylvania. He holds two honorary doctorates, one from Central Michigan University (public administration, 1993) and Northwood University (laws, 2008).

Show Notes

Dr. Rose and Dr. Reed join Adrienne and Trae to discuss the foundation of a good education in civics and economics: cooperation and trust rooted in moral beliefs and lived out by ethical people in the family and society.

We delve into the role of stories in economics class, preserving traditional practices and restoring home economics.

For the civics and economics teachers, our guests help us see why preferring old stories to current events is best and why it's not necessarily the classroom teacher’s job to show students how to balance their checking accounts.

Some topics in this episode include:

The Relationship between Parenting, Culture, Civics, and Economics
Framing Economics as Cooperation
Self-governance in Classical Education
The Family and Home Economics
Moral Believes and Trust in the Family and Society
The Role of Stories in Moral Education
Humane Economics and Traditional Practices
Gratitude and Service to Others
Prudence and Democracy
The Value of Failure
How to Avoid “Bumper Sticker Pedagogy”

Resources and Books & Mentioned In This Episode

Why Culture Matters, David Rose
Real Heroes, Lawrence Reed
Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt
Basic Economics, Thomas Sowell
Cinderella Man, Ron Howard (Director)
The Whistle, Benjamin Franklin
Aesop’s Fables, Aesop
“The Economics of Splitting Wood By Hand,” John Cuddeback
A Conflict of Visions, Thomas Sowell
Dr. Reed’s Website
Passion’s Within Reason, Robert H. Frank
The Memory Book, Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas

Favorite Books and Quotes

Dr. Rose’s book that he wishes he had read sooner:
A Conflict of Visions, Thomas Sowell

Dr. Reed’s favorite quote (corrected):
“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” - David Hayek

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Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

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