Paul Mueller

Senior Research Fellow

Paul Mueller is a Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University. Previously, Dr. Mueller taught at The King’s College in New York City.

His academic work has appeared in many journals including The Adam Smith ReviewThe Review of Austrian Economics, and The Journal of Economic Behavior and OrganizationThe Journal of Private Enterprise, and The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. He is also the author of Ten Years Later: Why the Conventional Wisdom about the 2008 Financial Crisis is Still Wrong with Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Dr. Mueller’s popular writing has appeared in USA Today and Fox News, as well as the Intercollegiate ReviewChristian HistoryAdam Smith Works, and Religion and Liberty, among others.

Dr. Mueller has given talks and led colloquia for a variety of organizations including Liberty Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal.

Dr. Mueller is also a Research Fellow and Associate Director of the Religious Liberty in the States project at the Center for Culture, Religion, and Democracy. He owns and operates a bed and breakfast (The Abbey) in Leadville, Colorado where he lives with his wife and five children.

  • ESG Puppeteers

    “Climate financiers are not capitalists. They are corporatists who think the government should direct private industry. They want to work with government officials to benefit themselves and hamstring their competition.” ~ Paul Mueller

    ESG Puppeteers
  • The Carbon Offset Dilemma

    “One really has to question the motives of climate activists who oppose the expansion of natural gas and nuclear power. Do they want to see realistic and sustainable environmental improvement or are they after some other kind of payout?” ~Paul Mueller

    The Carbon Offset Dilemma
  • A Tale of Two Economies

    “There are three possible resolution scenarios to federal government borrowing and spending — none of them good for economic growth in the near term.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Tale of Two Economies
  • A Short Guide to ESG: Conclusions

    “Unfortunately, ESG experts and government officials are convinced that they already know the answers to these questions and simply need to redirect massive resources accordingly. But if they are wrong, we will all suffer.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short Guide to ESG: Conclusions
  • A Short Guide to ESG: Philosophical Problems

    “At the end of the day, much of the Environmental, Social, and Governance movement rests on a pretense of knowledge. What’s worse, it puts the interest of the ‘collective’ over the wellbeing of individuals.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short Guide to ESG: Philosophical Problems
  • A Short Guide to ESG: Political Problems

    “By what right do largely unelected global elite ESG advocates get to impose their priorities and values (to their own benefit) on everyone else in the world?” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short Guide to ESG: Political Problems
  • A Short ESG Guide: Economic Problems

    “The current approach to mitigating climate change guarantees inefficiency and waste. No one knows which technologies and which companies will be most effective.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short ESG Guide: Economic Problems
  • A Short Guide to ESG: Legislation

    “Proponents of ESG would like to see more legal requirements for companies to reach net zero, to hire more diverse boards and employees, and to cater to a variety of stakeholder interest groups rather than the interest of shareholders.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short Guide to ESG: Legislation
  • A Profound Misdiagnosis of American Transit

    “We don’t need a resurgence of government spending on research and development to get more innovation in our transit systems. We just need governments to get out of the way!” ~Paul Mueller

    A Profound Misdiagnosis of American Transit
  • A Short Guide to ESG: Finance

    “ESG considerations represent a mainstreaming of impact investing while giving ‘fiduciary’ cover to large institutional investors who invest trillions of dollars of other people’s money in ways that advance mostly political priorities.” ~Paul Mueller

    A Short Guide to ESG: Finance