Phillip W. Magness works at the Independent Institute. He was formerly the Senior Research Faculty and F.A. Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research. He holds a PhD and MPP from George Mason University’s School of Public Policy, and a BA from the University of St. Thomas (Houston). Prior to joining AIER, Dr. Magness spent over a decade teaching public policy, economics, and international trade at institutions including American University, George Mason University, and Berry College. Magness’s work encompasses the economic history of the United States and Atlantic world, with specializations in the economic dimensions of slavery and racial discrimination, the history of taxation, and measurements of economic inequality over time. He also maintains an active research interest in higher education policy and the history of economic thought. His work has appeared in scholarly outlets including the Journal of Political Economy, the Economic Journal, Economic Inquiry, and the Journal of Business Ethics. In addition to his scholarship, Magness’s popular writings have appeared in numerous venues including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Newsweek, Politico, Reason, National Review, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.




Research Publications by Phillip W. Magness

Title: Gordon Tullock and the Economics of Slavery


Authors: P Magness, A Carden, I Murtazashvili

Publication: Available at SSRN 4318585, 2023

Title: ” The Danger of Deplorable Reactions”: WH Hutt on Liberalism, Populism, and the Constitutional Political Economy of Racism


Authors: PW Magness, A Carden, I Murtazashvili

Publication: The Independent Review 26 (4), 533-552, 2022

Title: “The Danger of Deplorable Reactions”: WH Hutt on Liberalism, Populism, and the Constitutional Political Economy of Racism


Authors: PA Coclanis, RE Wright, PW Magness, A Carden, I Murtazashvili, ...

Publication: The Independent Review; Oakland Vol. 26, Iss. 4, (Spring 2022): 0_3,0_4.

Title: Confederate Exodus: Social and Environmental Forces in the Migration of US Southerners to Brazil


Authors: PW Magness

Publication: Journal of American History 109 (3), 676-677, 2022

Title: Darity, Camara, and MacLean on William H. Hutt


Authors: PW Magness, A Carden

Publication: Econ Journal Watch 19 (2), 204-231, 2022