The Mises Institute (the Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics) is a nonprofit organization that promotes the research and teachings of the Austrian school of economics based on the traditions of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. ¹

The Mises Institute was founded in 1982 and promotes individual freedom, honest history, and international peace based on a free-market capitalist economy. Additionally, the Mises Institute supports a private property order that opposes taxation, monetary debasement, and “a coercive state monopoly of protective services.” ²

Activities

The Mises Institute supports the efforts of scholars worldwide to discover “the economics of freedom” through its online graduate degree program, fellowships, research grants, academic conferences, and access to its libraries. The Mises Institute is primarily focused on encouraging and inspiring scholars to teach at the university level. For individuals outside of academia, the Mises Institute provides publications, seminars, videos, and commentary on relevant issues. ³

The Mises Institute maintains large libraries featuring collections of new and old works by Austrian-school economists and historians, the complete bibliography of Ludwig von Mises, and the archives and personal library of Murray N. Rothbard. Many of the Mises Institute’s resources are available online, including books, videos, and rare journals, biographies, and bibliographies of notable economists. ⁴

The Mises Institute began its online graduate program in Austrian economics in 2020. The Mises Graduate School (MGS) offers graduate degree and certificate programs online, exclusively taught by professors dedicated to the Austrian school tradition. ⁵ The MGS programs focus on Austrian economics as an alternative way of looking at the science of economics, using social sciences as a basis instead of mathematical models of the economy. ⁶

Funding

The Mises Institute is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While the Mises Institute does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Lowndes Foundation ($50,000 in 2020), ⁷ the Denver Foundation ($27,577 in 2019), ⁸ and the Chase Foundation of Virginia ($10,000 in 2019). ⁹

Board of Directors

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. is the founder and chair of the Mises Institute and author of Fascism versus Capitalism. Rockwell is the editor of LewRockwell.com, ¹⁰ an anti-war, anti-state, pro-market news and opinion website. ¹¹

Jeff Deist is president of the Mises Institute. He previously worked on the congressional staff of former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). ¹²

Peter G. Klein is the chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business and the director of the Baugh Center’s Free Enterprise Initiative. ¹³

Ron Paul is the founder and chair of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. ¹⁴ Paul is a former U.S. Representative from Texas and has run for president three times, once as a Libertarian (1988) and twice as a Republican (2008 and 2012). ¹⁵

Joseph Salerno is the academic vice president of the Mises Institute and the editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. ¹⁶

Other members of the board include Daniel Ajamian, Deborah Ayers, Patricia Barnett, Steven Berger, John Denson, Robert Luddy, Greg Morin, Don Printz, and Steve Torello. ¹⁷

1.  “What Is the Mises Institute?” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/about-mises/what-is-the-mises-Institute.
2. “What Is the Mises Institute?” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/about-mises/what-is-the-mises-Institute.
3. “What Is the Mises Institute?” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/about-mises/what-is-the-mises-Institute.
4. “What Is the Mises Institute?” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/about-mises/what-is-the-mises-Institute.
5. “What Is the Mises Institute?” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/about-mises/what-is-the-mises-Institute.
6. “Home.” Mises Graduate School. Accessed April 3, 2023. https://www.misesgraduateschool.org/.
7. Lowndes Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020, Part XV, Line 3.
8. Denver Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
9. Chase Foundation of Virginia, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019, Part XV, Line 3.
10. “Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/profile/llewellyn-h-rockwell-jr.
11. “About.” LewRockwell.com. Accessed April 3, 2023. https://www.lewrockwell.com/about/.
12. “Jeff Deist.” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/profile/jeff-deist.
13. “Peter Klein.” Baylor University. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://business.baylor.edu/directory/?id=peter_klein.
14. “About the Institute.” Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Accessed March 29, 2023. http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/about-us/.
15. “Ron Paul.” Ballotpedia. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Ron_Paul.
16. “Joseph T. Salerno.” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/profile/joseph-t-salerno.
17. “Board and Finance.” Mises Institute. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://mises.org/board-and-finance.