I Love George Mason!

I went to dinner with GMU's experimental economics group after a presentation in Arlington tonight. I was delighted listening to Dan Houser and Bart Wilson discussing ideas with Sarah Brosnan on how to test ultimatum games with capuchin monkeys. Not only was the topic entertaining and humorous, but it was also intriguing and on the cutting-edge of economics research. It dawned on me as I was sitting there -- where else but at George Mason would I even overhear such a conversation?

This got me reflecting on some of my experiences over this past week or so:

• Attending a seminar with Steven Brams (from NYU) on alternative forms of voting and novel means of conflict-resolution.
• Listening to Michael McBride (from UC - Irvine) discuss how Mormons address free-rider problems (click here for a copy of his paper).
• Touring the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC with fellow grad students on Wednesday morning.
• Working at the Mercatus Center, researching the rise of specialty coffee in Rwanda and its effect on poverty relief.
• Hearing Rick Harbaugh (from Indiana University) discuss signaling theory and explain how sometimes sharing good news looks bad.
• Attending Sarah Brosnan's presentation this afternoon on her research testing concepts of fairness with capuchin monkeys and chimpanzees. She was a phenomenal presenter and doing some absolutely fascinating work!

These are only a few highlights of the past week that come to mind... And to think that on top of all of this, I'm also learning microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics and making progress towards a PhD!

GMU is also home to some of the leading researchers in areas as diverse as experimental economics, public choice and economics of religion. Our faculty are superb and foster an incredibly collegial environment. Almost without exception, they are approachable, friendly and full of brilliant ideas. We have two Nobel Laureates on our faculty (James Buchanan and Vernon Smith) and another (Gordon Tullock) who has been nominated for the prize numerous times. GMU faculty are also the authors of some of the best economics blogs around including Marginal Revolution, Café Hayek and EconLog.

GMU may not be ranked amongst the top econ programs (YET!), but I cannot think of anywhere else in the world that would give me access and exposure to the breadth of ideas, experiences and people that I have had here.

Am I proud to be a Patriot? You better betcha!

P.S. -- I think Walter Williams agrees.