Congratulations Dr. Michael Thomas!

My friend and classmate Michael Thomas just received his PhD on Friday:

Michael Thomas defended his dissertation on Friday --- The Political Economy of Repugnance. Michael is a dedicated scholar of the history of political economy. The core of his dissertation is a re-examinaton of the debate over the market approach to blood supply -- a famous debate that took place involving Titmus and the folks at IEA. But Michael reaches back into a discussion of the status of evolutionary progress found in Mandeville, Smith and Bentham, and examines the additional issue of the market for organs.

Michael's main theoretical point is that entrepreneurial discovery and market selection work even in areas like blood supply and bodily organs to match supply and demand, and ensure product quality. However, repugnance often results in regulation prior to the market adjustment and thus prevents entrepreneurial discovery and the market assurance of quality to evolve.

Michael's argument is actually more subtle than that, so I recommend that your visit his website and read his papers.

Like Diana, Michael and I entered GMU's PhD program together. And speaking of Micheal and Diana, the two of them are getting married soon.

Congratulations, Dr. Thomas!