# Bryan Caplan

> Bryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University who turns provocative ideas into bestselling books and graphic novels. He coined 'rational irrationality' to explain why democracies pick bad policies, argues education is mostly signaling, champions open borders and housing deregulation, and keeps a perfect public betting record on his predictions. He writes the Substack 'Bet On It' and has built a career out of cheerfully defending unpopular positions with data.

- **Role:** Professor of Economics at George Mason University
- **Organizations:** George Mason University, Mercatus Center, Cato Institute
- **From:** Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. in Economics, Princeton University
- **Known for:** The Myth of the Rational Voter named best political book of the year by the New York Times, Pioneered the concept of 'rational irrationality' in political economy, Coined the 'Ideological Turing Test', now a widely used term in public discourse

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Earns B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley
- **1997** — Earns Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton, advised by Ben Bernanke
- **1997** — Joins the faculty at George Mason University
- **2007** — Publishes The Myth of the Rational Voter, named best political book of the year by the New York Times
- **2011** — Publishes Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids
- **2018** — Publishes The Case Against Education
- **2019** — Releases Open Borders, a graphic nonfiction book with cartoonist Zach Weinersmith
- **2022** — Launches the Bet On It Substack and publishes essay collections including Don't Be a Feminist
- **2024** — Publishes Build, Baby, Build, a graphic novel on housing deregulation illustrated by Ady Branzei

## Achievements

- The Myth of the Rational Voter named best political book of the year by the New York Times
- Pioneered the concept of 'rational irrationality' in political economy
- Coined the 'Ideological Turing Test', now a widely used term in public discourse
- Maintains a perfect public betting record (reported 23-for-23) on his predictions
- Authored two acclaimed graphic nonfiction books, Open Borders and Build, Baby, Build
- Books reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Economist

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — Released Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation, his second graphic novel, making the case for radical housing deregulation.
- **2025** — Continues writing the Bet On It Substack and publishing essay collections, including Pro-Market AND Pro-Business.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bcaplan.com
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bryan_caplan

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/bryan-caplan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02