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Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business

Profile Information

Reed Watson

Reed Watson

Director, Hayek Center for the Business of Prosperity
Professor of Practice, John E. Walker Department of Economics

Office: 309B Wilbur O. and Ann Powers Hall
Phone: 8646569524
Email: REED81@clemson.edu
Personal Website: https://sites.google.com/view/reedwatson

 


 Educational Background

    J.D. Law
    Duke University 2008

    M.A. Environmental Economics and Policy
    Duke University 2008

    B.S. Economics
    Clemson University 2004

Courses Taught

  • Business Ethics (BUS 3010)
  • Why Business? (ECON 2050)
  • Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 2110)
  • Select Topics in Economics (ECON 4980)
  • Environmental Law and Policy (HON 2200)

Profile

Reed Watson is the Director of the Hayek Center for the Business of Prosperity and a Professor of Practice in the John E. Walker Department of Economics at Clemson University where he facilitates learning, but refuses to teach. At Clemson, he and his Hayek Center colleagues are dedicated to understanding how competition in the marketplace advances human flourishing, focusing in particular on healthcare and labor markets. He also coordinates the business professionalism curriculum in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business.

Watson spent the first part of his career examining the economics of natural resource management, focusing on the legal institutions governing public lands, water, and wildlife resources. His writings have graced or disgraced the pages of several books, academic journals, and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Only once did a reader care enough to send a death threat.

Prior to joining Clemson University, Watson was Executive Director of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana. Prior to that, he built convenience stores, sold running shoes, and pedaled bicycles for money, but never at the same time. He is a 2004 graduate of Clemson University and a 2008 graduate of Duke University. With his wife, Kathryn, and sons, Ben and Sam, the Watson family calls Clemson home.

Research Interests

  • Broad: Law and Economics, Property Rights
  • Narrow: (1) Policies restricting competition in healthcare markets (2) Welfare policies and labor force participation (3) Markets for environmental conservation

Research Publications

  • "Priming the Invisible Pump of Water Markets." In Free Market Environmentalism for the Next Generation, ed. by Terry Anderson and Donald Leal. Palgrave (2015).
  • "Entrepreneurs: Doing Good While Doing Well." In Free Market Environmentalism for the Next Generation, ed. by Terry Anderson and Donald Leal. Palgrave (2015).
  • "Public Wildlife on Private Land: Unifying the Split Estate to Enhance Trust Resources." 23 Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum 291-321 (Spring 2013).
  • "Tapping Water Markets." RFF Press an imprint of Taylor and Francis, with Terry Anderson and Brandon Scarborough (2012).
  • "Environmental Federalism: The Optimal Locus of Endangered Species Authority." In The Endangered Species Act and Federalism, ed. by Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson. RFF Press, with Terry Anderson (2011).
Faculty Profile
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business | 343 Chandler L. Burns Hall, Clemson, S.C. 29634