Entangled Political Economy — Richard Wagner on the Origins of EPE

This is the first episode of a three-part miniseries on entangled political economy (EPE), hosted by Mikayla Novak. Entangled political economy is a sub-discipline of political economy that explicitly views individuals and the private and public sectors as being intertwined in overlapping exchange relationships along competitive and collaborative dimensions.

On this episode, Mikayla Novak interviews Richard Wagner on entangled political economy. Wagner discusses the framework’s origins, influenced by James Buchanan, and critiques governmental inefficiency, advocating for privately ordered governance. Wagner reflects on his teaching experiences which integrated anthropology, sociology, and other social sciences, and how these shaped his understanding of economics as a broad social science encompassing various forms of exchange and societal interactions. He highlights Vincent Ostrom's work on the limitations of government, and considers the future directions of EPE.

Richard Wagner is Emeritus Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Distinguished Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

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