Ryan M. Yonk

Ryan M. Yonk is Senior Research Faculty at the American Institute for Economic Research.  He holds a PhD from Georgia State University and a MS and BS from Utah State University. Prior to joining AIER he held academic positions at North Dakota State University, Utah State University, and Southern Utah University, and was one of the founders of the Strata Policy. He is the (co) author or editor of numerous books including Green V. Green, Nature Unbound: Bureaucracy vs. the Environment, The Reality of American Energy,  and Politics and Quality of Life: The Role of Well-Being in Political Outcomes. He has also (co) authored numerous articles in academic journals including Public Choice, The Independent Review, Applied Research in Quality of Life, and the Journal of Private Enterprise. His research explores how policy can be better crafted to achieve greater individual autonomy and prosperity.

 

Selected Academic Journal Articles

“Trading Places; Effects of voting systems on multicandidate elections”, (2011) (with Randy T Simmons and Derek Johnson) Public Choice, Volume 146, Numbers 3-4, 341-351, 2011.

“Bootleggers, Baptists and Political Entrepreneurs: Key Players in the Rational and Morality play of Regulatory Politics,” (2010) (with Randy Simmons and Diana Thomas) The Independent Review, Volume 15(3).

“Citizen Involvement: Quality of Life in a time of Direct Democracy” (with Shauna Reilly) Applied Research in Quality of Life, March 2012

“Battlegrounds and Budgets; State-level Evidence of Budget Manipulation in Competitive Presidential Election States” State and Local Government Review. Vol 45 No. 2, June 2013 (With Daniel Franklin and Sean Richey)

“The Empty Intersection: Why so little Public Choice in Political Science? Public Choice July 2015 (With Randy T Simmons)

“The Regulatory Noose: Logan City’s Adventures in Micro-Hydropower”  Energies. June 2016. (With Randy T Simmons and Megan Hansen)

“Boon or Bust: Wilderness Designation and Local Economies” Journal of Private Enterprise. Fall 2016. (With Randy T. Simmons and Brian C. Steed)

“From Equality and the Rule of Law to the Collapse of Egalitarianism” Independent Review. June 2017 (With James Harrigan)

“Disincentives to Business Development on the Navajo Nation”. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. June 2017 (With Devin Stein and Sierra Hoffer)

Human Influences on the Northern Yellowstone Range. Rangelands. January 2019. (With Jeff Mosely and Peter Husby)

“Exploring Impacts of the Surface Mine Reclamation and Control Act” Resources. Feb 2019 (With Joshua Smith and Arthur Wardle)

“Manufactured Yellowstone: Political Management of an American Icon: Institutions and Incentives in Yellowstone Management” (With Jordan Lofthouse) May 2020, International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks.

Permissionless Innovation and Land-Use Regulation: How Zoning Can Frustrate Sustainability an Example from the United States. (With Josh Smith) December 2021, Journal of Sustainability Science and Management

 

Books & Edited Volumes

Green vs. Green: The Political, Legal, and Administrative Pitfalls Facing Green Energy Production. Routledge Press. Oct 2012 (With Randy Simmons and Brian Steed)

Nature Unbound: Bureaucracy vs. The Environment. Independent Institute. March 2016[1] (With Randy Simmons and Ken Sim)

The Reality of American Energy: The Hidden Costs of Electricity Policy. Praeger Press. July 2017 (With Megan Hansen and Jordan Lofthouse)

The Political Impacts of Quality of Life : Springer International Press.  Jan 2018 (With Josh Smith)

Direct Democracy in the United States: Petitioners as a Reflection of Society. Routledge Press. Oct 2012 (Edited Volume edited with Shauna Reilly)

[1] [1] Winner of the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal (IPPY) in the Environmental, Ecology, and Nature category.