Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research

Evan Osborne

Evan Osborne, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Economics, can be considered something of a Renaissance man, having a vast array of scholarly insights and skills, ranging from the economics of sports to the caste system of India to writing research papers in Chinese.

Osborne has authored 30 refereed-reviewed journal articles, two peer-reviewed book chapters and one scholarly book: “The Rise of the Anti-Corporate Movement: Corporations and the People Who Hate Them.”

“The body of scholarly output that Professor Osborne has generated … is outstanding and has clearly had a very constructive impact on Wright State University’s reputation as a research institution,” said Thomas Traynor, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Economics.

Osborne was awarded the Duncan Black Prize for his co-authored article “Truth, Effort and the Legal Battle,” published in Public Choice. He also received a Fulbright Fellowship from the State Department.

“Osborne is a true scholar who redefines academic freedom in all aspects,” said Joanne Li, Ph.D., dean of the Raj Soin College of Business and professor of finance.

His diverse publication topics include: the economics of art, Chinese philosophy, ethnic conflict, the philosophy of commerce, empirical analysis of the economic development of Korea, privatization of formerly public services, political decision-making in the real world and the virtual world, Anglo-American law and litigation and many more.

Google Scholar identifies 460 citations worldwide of Osborne’s research by scholars.

“To be a specialist in its own field is a challenge, to be publishable in multiple disciplines around the world requires not just the high intellect but also the diligence to see through the task,” said Li. “His intellectual curiosity and the ability to translate this scholarly inquisitiveness into innovative knowledge are definitely extraordinary.”

Osborne teaches and has designed numerous courses based on his research. He has created 11 courses while at Wright State, including six completely distinctive ones found at few if any other universities. He has also taught in Taiwan and Germany.

He is currently reading about Enlightenment intellectual history, the history of the scientific revolution, classical liberal thought and the idea of free speech, debates about epistemology and ontology in ancient Indian philosophy, and other topics in the course of writing another scholarly book.

“My basic approach is that I am an extremely curious person, interested in everything,” said Osborne.