David J. Hebert is a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, an Acton affiliate scholar, and was previously an associate professor of economics and director of the Center for Markets, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship at Aquinas College. He graduated with a degree in economics from Hillsdale College in 2009 and then attended George Mason University, where he earned a masters in 2011 and Ph.D. in 2014. During graduate school, he was an F.A. Hayek Fellow with the Mercatus Center and a fellow with the Department of Health Administration and Policy and also worked with the Joint Economic Committee in the U.S. Congress.
Posts by David J. Hebert
May 20, 2026
Imagine a neighborhood that has experienced high crime rates for years. A local “neighborhood watch” group forms, but it only talks about resolutions without taking any action. Criminals are found guilty but then immediately released back onto the streets to continue their illicit activities.
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March 17, 2026
At some point in their economics curriculum, every undergraduate will learn the “guns and butter” model of trade. The idea is simple: Countries have limited resources and can devote them either to military production or to consumer goods.
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April 07, 2025
James Hartley provided a thought-provoking and insightful discussion of tariffs at a recent Acton Lecture Series event. Far be it from me to say he is completely off-base when it comes to tariffs.
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December 27, 2023
Universal basic income (UBI), freedom dividends, permanent fund dividends, guaranteed income … these are all names that have been used over the past 200 years to describe the same essential policy proposition: to provide a permanent income to citizens from their government.
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