Creighton University’s Menard Center for Economic Inquiry creates the space for students to engage in robust discussions about the relationship between economic freedom and human flourishing. It supports programs that analyze economic and social outcomes from a variety of academic perspectives, including economics, ethics, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Clara Piano, now a visiting assistant professor of economics at the University of Mississippi, said the center was an influential part of her experience as a Creighton undergraduate. We spoke to hear about how the opportunity to engage with questions about markets and human progress shaped her career.
CKF: Let’s go back to the beginning of your undergrad years, 2013. What did you study at Creighton, and how did you hear about the Center for Economic Inquiry?
Piano: I was conflicted about majors because there was so much I was interested in. I settled on marketing because I loved to read and write, and thought I’d be able to use those skills. But then I fell in love with economics, so I added that as a major.
The center was just getting started in 2013. One of my instructors, Tim Bastian, told me two economists, Michael and Diana Thomas, were offering reading groups and bringing in speakers. I thought, “Well, I love reading,” so I started to get involved my sophomore year. Michael ran the discussion groups and brought contemporary questions into whatever we were reading. We talked about economic development, whether consumers today actually have too many choices, and the morality of markets. The students came from different majors, so the discussions were dynamic.
The center quickly became the best part of my college experience because it helped me find that core group of friends who were really interested in talking about ideas. You’d think that environment is everywhere in college, but it actually can be hard to find sometimes. Students think about ideas in their dorm rooms and libraries, but don’t get together a lot outside the classroom to wrestle with ideas.
CKF: Finding your people is such an important aspect of college. Can you tell me more about how Michael and Diana Thomas fostered your interest in economics?
Piano: Definitely. One thing that really paved the way for my graduate career was being Diana’s research assistant. I worked with her for about two years. I helped present research at conferences, edited a book, and finished my own research project on regulation of the craft beer industry, and how easing rules spurred economic development. The center also funded a trip to an Association for Private Enterprise Educators conference in Hawaii where I presented research on school choice. I won a prize for that work too.
All of this gave me excellent experience, and because my research was funded, I was able to quit my job at a coffee shop. There aren’t a lot of opportunities for undergraduates to get paid to do research, and we don’t have a corollary to internships in academia. That means a lot of people go into graduate school without even knowing if they like research. Because of my involvement with the center, I got that experience before graduate school and found research was something I loved.
CKF: You said the center brought together students from different majors. How else did the center broaden or deepen your experience as an undergrad?
Piano: Yes, and it exposed me to books I probably wouldn’t have read either. One of my favorite works is by the philosopher Josef Pieper. It’s called Leisure, the Basis of Culture. I don’t think I would have picked that up, but now I love it. And, yes, within the center, there was a diverse array of students and professors — and opinions. I definitely came away from some discussions having changed my opinion. And that was celebrated. The groups gave us a space to interrogate our ideas. The center also helped us understand how to respectfully disagree, which is a skill that has served me well.
CKF: Can you tell our audience a little bit about the research you’ve done since Creighton?
Piano: I went to graduate school and got my PhD at George Mason, which is known for its emphasis on the history of economic ideas and, specifically, Austrian economics. One of the insights of Austrian economics is that central planning an economy is not possible. It doesn’t put food on the table. There are no property rights, no profits, all of which drive progress. I loved that insight, and wondered if something similar applied to family life. So, early on I became interested in Soviet family policy. Soviet Russia didn’t just try to central plan the economy, it tried to organize the family to meet the aims of the party, which caused chaos. It resulted in unbalanced families and children regularly being orphaned. That early work during grad school drove my interest in family policy and family economics.
More recently, I’ve looked at marriage and mental health and also the fertility gap, which is the difference between how many children women say they desire and actually have. What I’ve found is that in states where there’s more economic freedom — specifically, fewer regulations on labor — women can attain their family goals. In other words, the more flexible the market is, the more each individual in a couple can choose the job that works for them. I’ll have a working paper coming out soon that looks at AB5 in California, which restricted gig work, and how it affects families.
CKF: CKF’s mission is to empower individuals to live lives of meaning. Do you think this program advances that goal? If so, how?
Piano: First of all, there’s just such a need for these experiences. Whether it’s opportunities for undergrads to do research or simply to gather to talk about ideas. Young people are so naturally curious and thoughtful, but sometimes it’s just not being fostered as much as it could be on college campuses. The second thing, which I have already spoken about, is the practical hands-on work you can’t find anywhere else. As I said, the center enabled me to stop working a service job I liked, but that was not directly related to what I would be doing in my career. I couldn’t have put that job on my CV the same way that I could undergraduate research experience. So, just from an employment perspective, the center was crucial.
I’m trying to incorporate some of the opportunities the center gave me into my own work today. I’ve run reading groups at the campuses where I’ve worked, giving my students the opportunity to have really rich discussions outside the classroom. As an instructor, those conversations are hard to have when you have dozens or hundreds of students in a class. The reading groups help students find their voices and discover how to respectfully disagree.
CKF: It’s wonderful you’re carrying the center’s model forward, and that devotion leads to our final question: when it comes to sustaining a functioning society, why are programs like the Center for Economic Inquiry so important?
Piano: College is such a precious time. You have freedom, but it’s also work. I tell my students that all the time. Your job is to learn right now, and your ancestors would have killed for this, especially the women. For students who really want to explore and test ideas outside the classroom, programs like this one give them the chance to do so.
I also think every generation has to learn what the last generation knew. My students didn’t grow up with an example like the Soviet Union. They have no first-hand knowledge of how it was offensive to human dignity. Programs like the Center for Economic Inquiry expose students to the questions that lead people to socialism, but hopefully in a faster way in a more pleasant way than actually going through the experience. They help us learn from previous generations.
For me, the center also helped me find a vocation, and that’s a really beautiful thing.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
