https://jordanlofthouse.com/intro daily 0.75 2021-06-09 https://jordanlofthouse.com/contact daily 0.75 2017-05-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58d00f106b8f5b01c8e73f52/1491858427382-L46N6OML0EQRY4L20YNX/color-3.png Contact https://jordanlofthouse.com/new-page daily 0.75 2019-09-19 https://jordanlofthouse.com/about-me daily 0.75 2019-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1568853290774-Q5K3R4Q9W7P327O6EQAT/Headshot%2B2019.jpg About Me https://jordanlofthouse.com/curriculumvitae daily 0.75 2019-09-19 https://jordanlofthouse.com/courses daily 0.75 2019-09-19 https://jordanlofthouse.com/researchandpublications daily 0.75 2019-09-19 https://jordanlofthouse.com/teaching-and-courses daily 0.75 2019-09-23 https://jordanlofthouse.com/curriculum-vitae daily 0.75 2026-02-24 https://jordanlofthouse.com/home daily 1.0 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/29525904-561f-4200-b55d-b3f0df2c05b3/AEGTE_Cover_Official.jpg Home - Jordan K. Lofthouse I am a Program Director of Research and Programs, a Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. I received a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in 2020. Prior to my doctoral program, I received an M.S. in economics in 2016 and a B.S. in geography in 2014, both from Utah State University. In my role as Program Director of Research and Programs, I run several of the Mercatus Center’s fellowships and program-related activities. In my role as a Senior Fellow with the Hayek Program, I am working on research related to the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy. Some of my research topics include environmental economics, Native American economic development, entrepreneurship, and disaster recovery. My Recent Book An Economist’s Guide to Environmentalism: A Toolkit for Understanding and Solving Ecological Problems, published by Bloomsbury Academic Several of My Latest Papers “Governing With, Not Government Over Citizens” in European Economic Review, co-authored with Peter J. Boettke “Calling on and thanking God: The role of faith and faith communities in disaster recovery” in Disasters, co-authored with Virgil Henry Storr and Nona Martin Storr “Internet Access and Native American Economic Development” in Journal of Private Enterprise, co-authored with James Ronyak “Nonviolent Action and Free Market Environmentalism” in Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence “A Polycentric Approach for Addressing Wicked Social Problems” in Administrative Sciences, co-authored with Leah Kral. “Expert Knowledge and the Administrative State” in Public Choice, co-authored with Alexander Schaefer “Militarized Climate Planning: What is Left?” in the Review of Austrian Economics, co-authored with Nathan P. Goodman and Mikayla Novak “The Black Mouth Society and Governance on the Great Plains” in the Journal of Institutional Economics, co-authored with Christopher J. Coyne My Mini-Series of the Hayek Program Podcast “Environmental Economics — Militarized Climate Planning: What is Left?” August 21, 2024. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-militarized-climate-planning-what-left “Environmental Economics — Why You Should Live in the City.” Guest: Justus Enninga. August 7, 2024. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-why-you-should-live-city “Environmental Economics — Governing the Global Fisheries Commons.” Guests: Pablo Paniagua and Veeshan Rayamajhee. March 6, 2024. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-governing-global-fisheries-commons “Environmental Economics — Bobbi Herzberg on Climate Change and Polycentricity.” November 29, 2023. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-bobbi-herzberg-climate-change-and “Environmental Economics — Katie Wright on Sustainability and Water Scarcity.” October 18, 2023. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-katie-wright-sustainability-and-water “Environmental Economics — Megan Jenkins on Conservation Policy.” September 20, 2023. https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram/hayek-program-podcast/environmental-economics-megan-jenkins-conservation-policy https://jordanlofthouse.com/research-and-publications daily 0.75 2025-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1668622596658-GHFY9QYJQYMSFMFY9OGS/DSCN1084.JPG Research and Publications - The Continuing Case for a Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change Lofthouse, Jordan K. and Roberta Q. Herzberg. 2023. “The Continuing Case for a Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change.” Sustainability 15 (4): 3770. Elinor Ostrom argued that effectively coping with manmade climate change requires a polycentric approach. Although we agree with Ostrom’s assessment, her arguments regarding the advantages of polycentricity could be taken further. In this paper, we supplement Ostrom’s work by fleshing out the reasons of how and why a polycentric approach is more conducive to coping with climate change than national governments that attempt to centrally direct climate change policies. We argue that there are at least six advantages that polycentric systems have for coping with climate change: competition among decision makers, cooperation among decision makers, perceptions of legitimacy that lead to coproduction, mutual learning through experimentation, institutional resilience/robustness, and emergent outcomes that are socially desirable but not centrally planned. The combination of these six factors gives polycentric governance systems distinct advantages over more top-down ones, especially in terms of epistemics and incentive compatibility. Scholars and policymakers who are concerned about the implications of climate change should appreciate the many diverse and nuanced advantages of a polycentric approach for coping with climate change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1569075733505-J3LJ45RIA51Q4P2BS8PC/Monument+Vallley.jpg Research and Publications - Institutions and Economic Development on Native American Lands Lofthouse, Jordan K. 2019. “Institutions and Economic Development on Native American Lands,” The Independent Review 24(2) Fall: 227-248. Native American lands are often rich in natural resources yet bastions of poverty. This paradox results largely from three main obstacles that impede entrepreneurship, the market process, and economic development: the federal land trust, a dual federal-tribal bureaucracy, and legal and political uncertainty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1569008550084-N9VSWKCJCROK8I070H03/West+Mitten.jpg Research and Publications - Liberty versus Bureaucracy on Native American Lands Lofthouse, Jordan K. 2019. "Liberty versus Bureaucracy on Native American Lands," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 34(Spring 20), pages 87-101. Over the course of American history, a pervasive administrative state has emerged on Native American reservations as the result of unique institutions that govern those lands. The federal trust responsibility and an elaborate web of federal, state, and tribal policies affect the liberties and economic well-being of Native Americans. These unique institutions impose high costs on individual Native Americans when they try to engage in most economic enterprises. This paper explores the complex institutional structure of Native American governance that increases poverty, limits entrepreneurship, and restricts individual liberty on a fundamental level. The pervasiveness of bureaucratic control has also spurred negative forms of political entrepreneurship, eroded the rule of law, and hampered markets from working efficiently. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1668622679525-0L9JE8TZ33TX8LUOOS7H/DSCN0003.JPG Research and Publications - Institutions, the Social Capital Structure, and Multilevel Marketing Companies Lofthouse, Jordan K. and Virgil Henry Storr. 2021. “Institutions, the social capital structure, and multilevel marketing companies.” Journal of Institutional Economics 17 (1): 53–70. In multilevel marketing companies (MLMs), member-distributors earn income from selling products and recruiting new members. Successful MLMs require a social capital structure where members can access and mobilize both strong and weak social ties. Utah has a disproportionate share of MLM companies located in the state and a disproportionate number of MLM participants. We argue that Utah's dominant religious institutions have led to the emergence of a social capital structure, making MLMs particularly viable. Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state; roughly half its population identifies as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The LDS Church's institutions foster a social capital structure where (almost all) members have access to and can leverage social capital in all its forms. LDS institutions encourage members to make meaningful social connections characterized by trust and reciprocity with other church members in local neighborhoods and across the world. https://jordanlofthouse.com/aboutme daily 0.75 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1569006482402-JDH3T7K21KQPLQEPM1RW/JU8A9850.jpg About Me - About Me I am an Program Director of Academic & Student Programs, a Senior Fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. I graduated with a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in 2020. Prior to my doctoral program, I received a B.S. in geography and an M.S. in economics, both from Utah State University. My areas of study include Austrian Economics, Public Choice Economics, Development Economics, and Economic Sociology. My broad research topics include environmental issues and Native American economic development. My dissertation focuses on how institutions and culture affect entrepreneurship and economic outcomes on Native American lands. Native American reservations are often islands of poverty within the United States. The purpose of my dissertation is to better understand the effects of formal and informal institutions on Native American entrepreneurship and economic growth. My other research involves the connections between the Bloomington School of Political Economy and environmental policy. Elinor and Vincent Ostrom were founding scholars of the Bloomington School, and the core of their research program focused on using self-governance and polycentricity to solve social problems. I explore the Ostroms’ normative and analytical arguments regarding self-governance and how self-governing systems can resolve environmental problems without the need for top-down, centralized policies. I enjoy playing the cello, hiking in national parks, and going to museums. I was born and raised in Rexburg, Idaho. I have also lived in Japan, Utah, and Virginia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/f32b99f9-45d8-4cdf-8bbc-e7079e3632ce/Headshot+1.jpg About Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/1610732556912-A0HYGW7C9QU8ZILLCT3V/JU8A4417ps.jpg About Me https://jordanlofthouse.com/teaching-philosophy daily 0.75 2019-09-20 https://jordanlofthouse.com/my-photography daily 0.75 2022-11-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/d920c505-e37d-431a-ae47-772c02aa2321/DSCN6948.JPG My Photography https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/00c28353-ad2c-4fb9-bf03-dd481da6e8d9/DSCN7043.JPG My Photography https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/aca788f2-a05a-4ac8-a922-e089c9eb0f78/DSCN6833.JPG My Photography https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d7fd567c2b19f010fd016a3/3bb5896e-329f-4b38-9a67-42b432165f71/DSCN6816.JPG My Photography 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