In the fall of 2006, Hillsdale College hosted the first Free Market Forum on “The Role of Markets and Governments in Pursuing the Common Good.”  The program included presentations by Rev. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute, Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School, and author George Gilder.  In addition, four panel discussions covered a wide range of topics that incorporated free market strategies.

The Free Market Forum seeks to encourage the study of free enterprise.  Consequently, over 50 invitees, including faculty members from colleges and universities around the country with ties to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities or the Acton Institute, attended as guests of the Free Market Forum.  Included in this group were representatives from ten state-based policy centers.  These scholars and state policy leaders came together for a dynamic exchange of information, to enhance the discussions at the colloquium, and to encourage the exchange of ideas in the future.

The papers from the Free Market Forum 2006 are available for download below.  Simply click on the title to open the file. 

Please note, all of the talks are available in audio format from Hillsdale College.  Please call 1-800-437-2268.

• “Free Economies and the Common Good”
  Rev. Robert A. Sirico
  
  
  Panel 1:  The Rise of the U.S. to Economic Superpower
  
  
• “Market Conditions in the Late 19th Century”
  P.J. Hill
• “Failure as an Element of Entrepreneurial Success”
  Larry Schweikart
• “Grover Cleveland and Sound Currency”
  Lawrence W. Reed
  
  
  Panel 2:  The Great Depression and the New Deal
  
  
• “What Got Us Into and Out of the Great Depression”
  Robert Higgs
• “The New Deal: Reputation and Reality”
  Jim Couch
• “FDR and the IRS”
  Burton Folsom
  
  
• “Progressivism's Critique of Free Markets”
  Richard Epstein
  
  
  Panel 3:  The Role of the Federal Reserve
  
  
• “The Evolution of Thinking About Federal Reserve Monetary Policy”
  Edward Gramlich
• “How the Fed Works Today”
  Robert Barro
• “The Free Banking Alternative”
  Lawrence H. White
  
  
  Panel 4:  Globalization and the U.S. Economy
  
  
• “Trends in the European Union and Russia”
  Nile Gardiner
• “Trends in China” 
  Charles Wolf, Jr.
• “Trends in Latin America”
  Alejandro A. Chafuen
  
  
  
• “Wealth and Poverty: A 2006 Update”
  George Gilder