Henry A. Thompson
I joined the Economics Department at the University of Mississippi as an Assistant Professor in August 2022.
I study the political economy of institutions with a particular focus on the alternative customary, organizational, and contractual arrangements people develop amongst one another when they cannot use government institutions to protect their property rights.
Research
Publications
The Economics of Criminal Governance, (with Z. Porreca). In Klaus F. Zimmermann, ed: Handbook of Labor, Human Resources, and Population Economics. Forthcoming.
The Spontaneous Provision of Criminal Law, (with G. Benzecry). Public Choice. Forthcoming.
The Industrial Organization of the Mafia.(2024). Journal of Law & Economics, 67(3), 555–587. [Audio version here.]
Covid-19 and the Interest Group Approach to Government, (with P. Leeson). In Alberto Batinti, Joan Costa-Font, and Gilberto Turati, eds: Handbook on the Political Economy of Health Systems. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Public Health and Public Choice, (with P. Leeson). In Christian Bjornskov and Richard Jong- A-Pin, eds: Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Choice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Public Choice and Public Health, (with P. Leeson). Public Choice, 2023.
Identity and Off-diagonals: How Permanent Winning Coalitions Destroy Democratic Governance, (with P. Boettke). Public Choice, 2019.
Working Papers
Public Criminals, (with G. Benzecry and G. Scott). 2025.
Doing drugs, (with J. Callais). 2025.
AI and the Law. 2024.
Organization of Extortion. 2022.
The Industrial Organization of Prohibition-era Gangs, (with P. Hazlett). 2020.
Works in Progress
Mafia Recruits, Reputation, and Free-riders, 2021.