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.

C.V.

hathomp@olemiss.edu

Research

Peer-Reviewed 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, 2021.

Identity and Off-diagonals: How Permanent Winning Coalitions Destroy Democratic Governance, (with P. Boettke). Public Choice, 2019.

Working Papers

AI and the Law. 2024.

The Price of Silence, (with G. Benzecry and G. Scott). 2024.

Organization of Extortion. 2022.

The Industrial Organization of Prohibition-era Gangs, (with P. Hazlett). 2020.

Works in Progress

Doing drugs, (with J. Callais). 2024.

Justice without Precedent, 2021.

Mafia Recruits, Reputation, and Free-riders, 2021.

Teaching

Summary of Student Evaluations

Spring 2023

ECON 307-Applied Price Theory—Syllabus

Fall 2022

ECON 202-Principles of Microeconomics—Syllabus

ECON 312-Law and Economics—Syllabus

Spring 2021

ECON 104-Contemporary Macroeconomic Principles (In-person)—Syllabus

Fall 2020

ECON 360-Economics of Developing Areas (Hybrid Class)—Syllabus

Spring 2020

ECON 360-Economics of Developing Areas—Syllabus

Fall 2019

ECON 306-Intermediate Microeconomics—Syllabus

Awards, Grants, and Fellowships

Best Law & Economics Article by a Junior Scholar, International Center for Law & Economics, 2024

Law & Economics Fellow, International Center for Law & Economics, 2024, 2025

$10,000 Speaker Series Grant, International Center for Law & Economics, 2023, 2024

Finalist, Public Choice Society’s Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Prize, 2022

Mercatus Center Ph.D. Fellow, 2017-2022

Graduate Fellow, GMU F.A. Hayek Advanced Program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, 2017-2022

Humane Studies Fellow, Institute for Humane Studies, 2018-2022

Mercatus Center Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship, 2018-2022

Student Fellows Program, Public Choice Society, 2019-2021

Bradley Fellow, George Mason University, 2018-2019

Phi Beta Kappa Member, 2017

Clemson University Lyceum Scholar, 2014-2017