The Northwood Idea in Action: A Conversation with State Rep. Parker Fairbairn
The Northwood Idea in Action: A Conversation with State Rep. Parker Fairbairn
As Michigan grapples with economic challenges and the nation celebrates 250 years of American independence, what will it take to strengthen free enterprise, encourage public service and create greater opportunities for future generations? In this special faculty-alumnus interview, Dr. Brett M. Decker, Northwood University’s Endowed Chair of Leadership, sits down with state Rep. Parker Fairbairn...
Student View: Incentives, Poverty and the Power of Expectations
Student View: Incentives, Poverty and the Power of Expectations
By Dalani Paulsell, Northwhood University Economic difficulties have been analyzed using facts and figures, as well as the formulation of policies and theories. However, it is sometimes difficult to see the real-life aspect of such problems. Hillbilly Elegy, written by J. D. Vance, provides a personal insight into the author’s life, describing the hardships he...
Can Philanthropy and Investing Replace the Failing Welfare State?
Can Philanthropy and Investing Replace the Failing Welfare State?
Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to help fund savings accounts for 25 million children nationwide. Ray and Barbara Dalio are doing something similar in Connecticut. They have announced a contribution of $75 million to benefit 300,000 children in their home state. The accounts to which Dell and Dalio are contributing can be...
By Kristin Tokarev, Dr. Glenn Moots, Dr. Alex Tokarev
Americans Understand Free Enterprise — When It Is Defined
Americans Understand Free Enterprise — When It Is Defined
As November approaches, the midterm elections are emerging as a referendum — nationally and in Michigan — on America’s economic future and the systems we rely upon. Recent research from Gallup lends new insight into how Americans feel about economic systems: free enterprise, capitalism and socialism. Results underscore why it’s so important to foster knowledge...
By Kate Hessling
ALEC President Jonathan Williams Returns to Northwood to Make Case for Federalism
ALEC President Jonathan Williams Returns to Northwood to Make Case for Federalism
Nationally recognized economist and 2005 graduate explores how competition among states, free markets and limited government can safeguard American liberty. More than two decades after graduating from Northwood University, Jonathan Williams returned to campus with a message for the next generation: One of America’s most important safeguards of freedom is also one of its most...
By Kate Hessling
Can Prediction Markets Cut Through Political Misinformation?
Can Prediction Markets Cut Through Political Misinformation?
As fabricated polls, artificial intelligence and other forms of misinformation complicate the political landscape, Northwood University Professor Dr. Brett Decker argues that free markets offer a powerful tool for separating fact from fiction. In new commentary published by RealClearMarkets, Decker, Northwood’s Endowed Chair of Leadership, examines how prediction markets can help counter misleading political information...
Northwood Professor, Alumna Support Innovation Over Climate Alarmism
Northwood Professor, Alumna Support Innovation Over Climate Alarmism
Can free markets and innovation do more to protect the environment than government mandates and warnings of impending catastrophe? That’s the question at the heart of a new essay by Northwood University Associate Professor of Economics and Philosophy Dr. Alex Tokarev and Northwood alumna Kristin Tokarev, published by Learn Liberty. In “The Climate Panic Is...
Northwood Economist Examines the Future of Social Security
Northwood Economist Examines the Future of Social Security
As concerns grow about the long-term sustainability of Social Security, a Northwood University professor and alumna are challenging policymakers to reconsider how Americans save for retirement — and whether greater personal ownership could provide a more secure financial future. In a new article published by the Independent Institute, Northwood University Associate Professor of Economics and...
Northwood Faculty and Students Join U.S. Chamber’s National Free Enterprise Tour
Northwood Faculty and Students Join U.S. Chamber’s National Free Enterprise Tour
Northwood University students and professors helped bring a national conversation about free enterprise to Midland when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Free Enterprise Express Opportunity Tour stopped in the community on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. The event featured Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, alongside two...
By Kate Hessling
Why Free Enterprise Depends on Private Property and Voluntary Exchange
Why Free Enterprise Depends on Private Property and Voluntary Exchange
Northwood University’s Dr. Alex Tokarev examines Ludwig von Mises’ case for freedom in a new essay published by the Mises Institute. What allows people to live peacefully, make their own economic decisions and build a more prosperous society? Northwood University Associate Professor of Economics and Philosophy Dr. Alex Tokarev explores that question in “Liberalism as...
Prominent American Historian Teams Up with Northwood University to Explore Founders’ Intellectual Legacy
Prominent American Historian Teams Up with Northwood University to Explore Founders’ Intellectual Legacy
Northwood Senior Vice President Emeritus Timothy G. Nash co-authors an expanded edition of Books and the Founding Fathers with George H. Nash; volume features a foreword by President Kent MacDonald and an endorsement from former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. A new edition of Books and the Founding Fathers unites the scholarship of prominent American...
Watch Here: Historian George H. Nash on the Books, Ideas and Choices That Sustain Liberty
Watch Here: Historian George H. Nash on the Books, Ideas and Choices That Sustain Liberty
In a Northwood University podcast conversation, leading Herbert Hoover scholar George H. Nash joins Northwood Academic Vice President and Provost Kristin Stehouwer to explore America’s Founders, the value of historical knowledge and a side of Hoover many Americans never learned about. When historian Dr. George H. Nash studies America’s Founders, he looks beyond their speeches...
Northwood Economist: Let Drivers Choose, Not Regulators
Northwood Economist: Let Drivers Choose, Not Regulators
Can a government mandate give drivers better tires than a market shaped by their needs and choices? Northwood University economics professor Dr. Michael Makovi examines that question in a new article for the Independent Institute. California has approved efficiency standards for replacement tires, saying they will save drivers money on fuel with little added cost....
Listen Now: Northwood Professor Discusses Strength of U.S. Economy on WJR
Listen Now: Northwood Professor Discusses Strength of U.S. Economy on WJR
Northwood University Associate Professor of Economics and Philosophy Dr. Alex Tokarev joined ‘JR Morning on 760 WJR Friday, Sept. 18, to discuss the strength of the U.S. economy. Drawing on recent labor-market and productivity data, Tokarev pointed to job creation, steady unemployment, rising household incomes and productivity as signs of economic resilience. He also discussed...