Jim Powell (historian)

Jim Powell is Senior Fellow at a libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., with which he has been associated since 1988. He has also done work for the Manhattan Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies, Citizens for a Sound Economy, the National Right to Work Committee and Americans for Free Choice in Medicine.

Powell is a published author, writing several books on the unintended consequences of presidential policies, including FDR's Folly, a critical look on Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. He has also given talks at American universities such as Harvard and Stanford, as well as internationally.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia and growing up on Long Island, Powell attended the University of Chicago where he earned a B.A. in history. As an editor of the student quarterly New Individualist Review, helping publish articles by several future Nobel Laureates. Powell also worked as a researcher for future Nobel Laureate Ronald H. Coase.

In 1976, Powell began to publish his writings, with early books primarily focused on topics about the art market, commercial real estate, and Japanese finance. By the late 1980s, he began to author books on libertarian issues. Powell has been a part of multiple libertarian Think Tanks, including Cato Institute.