Claudia Williamson Kramer

A leading scholar in institutional economics, she has published extensively on the role of culture and economic freedom in shaping economic and social outcomes. Dr. Kramer’s research explores the critical role of individualism in promoting gender equality, racial tolerance and minority rights. Her extensive work on property rights underscores their foundational role in enabling economic freedom, which in turn supports civil rights like free speech. Dr. Kramer argues that secure property rights are not just economic tools but are intrinsically linked to personal liberties. Property rights provide the security and autonomy necessary for individuals to exercise agency and pursue opportunities.

Dr. Kramer is an Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a former F.A. Hayek Visiting Scholar, and a past President of the Association of Private Enterprise Education. She currently serves as an editor for Public Choice and the Journal of Institutional Economics, on the board of trustees for the Southern Economic Association, and on the board of fellows for the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee.