Oakland, Calif. September 13, 2004 – Economist Benjamin Powell has joined the Independent Institute, the Oakland, California-based public policy research and educational organization, to head its new Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation.

“The Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation will examine market-based solutions for a wide range of economic and social problems, including such issues as employment, affordable housing, high-tech innovation, outsourcing, transportation, immigration, electric power, and barriers to economic growth and entrepreneurship in the U.S. and abroad,” said David Theroux, founder and president of the Independent Institute. The Center will work with scholars, educators, journalists, and business and civic leaders to advance understanding of the creative process of entrepreneurship,” Mr. Theroux pointed out. “The Center’s research, publications, and communications will strengthen the Institute’s overall program of books, policy studies, and our journal, The Independent Review, in the area of entrepreneurial innovation,” said Mr. Theroux. This is the second new public policy center developed at the Independent Institute, joining the Center on Peace & Liberty, led by national security expert Dr. Ivan Eland. “Future centers in development include educational excellence, health and the environment, and law and justice,” noted Mr. Theroux.

Dr. Powell, a professor of economics at San Jose State University, will direct the Center’s research and publishing program. Current projects include studies of countries that have successfully promoted entrepreneurship, barriers to California’s housing affordability crisis, the impact of U.S. manufacturers relocating overseas on third-world and American living standards, electric power regulation and deregulation, market-based road transportation, and effective defenses against cyber terrorism.

Dr. Powell is the author of numerous scholarly articles and a contributing author to many books. His popular writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Orange County Register, Boston Herald, and Sacramento Bee, and he has commented on economic issues for both radio and television. His recent research on affordable housing mandates has been widely reported in newspapers throughout California and across the country.

Dr. Powell received his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University and his Bachelor of Science degree in finance and economics from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He has been a fellow with the Mercatus Center’s Global Prosperity Initiative and a visiting research fellow with the American Institute for Economic Research.