The Tomson Family Chair of Law and Economics was inspired by the studies and career of O. Jay Tomson. With the goal of supporting and expanding the teaching expertise of the Economics Department, donors O. Jay and Pat Tomson established this endowed faculty position for a specialist in the field of Law and Economics. The first holder of this chair is Colin Harris, Associate Professor of Law and Economics.
Colin Harris is Associate Professor of Economics at St. Olaf. Harris joined the faculty in 2018 following the completion of his doctorate from George Mason University.
His areas of study include law and economics, political economy, property rights economics, and development. Harris has given numerous presentations across the country on his economic research and has published several journal articles, forthcoming book chapters, and reviews.
Featured in the Journal of Institutional Economics, Harris’s article “Institutional Solutions to Free-Riding in Peer-to-Peer Networks: A Case Study of Online Pirate Communities” won the 2019 Elinor Ostrom Prize. He has also taken on a new position as the Book Review Editor for Public Choice and joined the Editorial Board of Public Choice. Additionally, Harris is on the Executive Board of The Carl Menger Essay Contest, associated with the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics.