An Economist Looks at Foreign Policy

Economists often use their analysis to understand the effects of various policies. However, they have mainly focused on domestic policy. Can we use economics to understand and predict the effects of foreign policy? Economics scholar David R. Henderson says that we can. In fact,two powerful pillars from economics-that every action has unintended consequences and that most information is inherently decentralized-have major implications for foreign policy.

David R. Henderson, PhD is a Professor of Economics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and a Research Fellow with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He was previously a senior economist with President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. Dr. Henderson has written articles for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, and Los Angeles Times, among others, and has appeared on CNN, PBS, Stossel, The O’Reilly Factor, MSNBC, NPR, and the BBC.

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