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Abigail Hall

Abigail Hall

  • PhD Fellow

Abby Hall is a second year PhD student in the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a first year Mercatus PhD Fellow. While an undergraduate, she was a Research intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Louisville Branch. She earned a BA in Economics and Business Administration from Bellarmine University. Abby has presented at the Eastern Economic Association annual conference and has published over a half dozen popular press pieces on economic freedom, militarization, and development.

Published Research

Keep Off the Grass: The Economics of Prohibition and U.S. Drug Policy

Peter J. Boettke, Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | May 2013
This Article examines the political economy of the War on Drugs with particular emphasis on the unintended consequences of drug prohibition. This Article analyzes the effects of prohibition on violence, drug potency, and cartelization in the drug market.

The Militarization of U.S. Domestic Policing

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Mar 2013
The ongoing “wars” on drugs and terrorism have helped to militarize domestic policing, giving us “no-knock” raids and other tactics formerly considered off-limits for civilian law enforcement. A political-economic analysis of this trend explains how crises have eroded rules that were created to constrain the use of military power and separate domestic policing from military functions.

The empire strikes back: Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and the Robust Political Economy of empire

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Feb 09, 2013
Recent scholarship regarding the idea of a U.S. Empire has raised serious questions as to the feasibility and desirability of imperial ambitions. This paper traces the debate over the net-benefit of empire back to the Classical economists. Adam Smith argued that the British Empire was a net cost while John Stuart Mill concluded the same empire was a net benefit.

Working Papers

The Empire Strikes Back: Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and the Robust Political Economy of Empire

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Feb 09, 2013
Recent scholarship regarding the idea of a U.S. Empire has raised serious questions as to the feasibility and desirability of imperial ambitions. This paper traces the debate over the net-benefit of empire back to the Classical economists.

Institutional Bottlenecks: What Can Be Done?

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Dec 11, 2012
Institutional bottlenecks refer to path-dependent institutional arrangements which contribute to economic stagnation. In his research, Timur Kuran identifies several historical institutional bottlenecks which contributed to economic decline and underdevelopment of the Middle East. The authors use Kuran’s research as springboard to ask: what can be done about institutional bottlenecks?

The Militarization of U.S. Domestic Policing

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Aug 02, 2012
This paper develops the political economy of the militarization of domestic policing. We apply our theory to the U.S., where we trace the (failed) historical attempts to establish constraints to separate the military functions and policing functions of government. In doing so we emphasize the role of crises in the form of perpetual wars — the “War on Drugs” and the “War on Terror” — in the accelerated militarization of domestic policing.

Media Clippings

Interview: Are we heading toward a police state?

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Mar 30, 2013
Outlet: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

'Good' Profits and 'Bad' Profits Defined

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Mar 15, 2012
Outlet: Washington Examiner

Crisis and the Creeping Militarization of American Society

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Feb 20, 2012
Outlet: The Daily Caller

Governments ring in year with less economic freedom

Christopher Coyne, Abigail Hall | Jan 14, 2012
Outlet: Richmond Times-Dispatch
More Media Clippings

Research Areas