Political Economy Reading Program

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations

The theme for the fall 2025 reading program is The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Participants will read and discuss works that examine the role of personal freedom, markets, and culture in wealth generation. The readings and discussions will address a range of questions including:

• Why are some nations prosperous while others remain impoverished?
• How has the quality of life changed over time around the world?
• How do government policies and markets affect our well-being?

Participants will receive a set of readings that will provide a foundation for the discussions to address these and other questions of importance to the program theme. The schedule of readings and topics of discussion will be posted to this page at a later date.

The program will begin with an introductory meeting at the start of the fall 2025 semester, followed by ten (10) discussion meetings. Meetings will be held twice a week throughout the first half of the semester:

• Texas Tech University — Monday/Thursday — 5:00-6:15 PM

Dinner will be provided at each discussion meeting. The program will conclude on or before Thursday, October 30, 2025.

Political Economy Reading Program Summit

Participants will also attend a weekend summit on September 19-20, 2025 (Friday/Saturday) at Texas Tech University. The summit will feature formal remarks from Claudia Williamson Kramer, Scott L. Probasco, Jr. Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise and Professor of Economics at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Participants in the summit program will read and discuss selected publications authored by Prof. Williamson Kramer prior to the summit program and participate in interactive discussion groups on issues related to the program theme.

Program Eligibility and Application

Full-time undergraduate students from any field of study are eligible and encouraged to apply. Participants that successfully complete the program receive a $1,000 scholarship. To apply, please visit the link below:

Political Economy Reading Program — Fall 2025 Application

The deadline to apply for the fall 2025 program is Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

Past Reading Programs

To view information about previous iterations of this program, visit the archive at the following link:

FMI Political Economy Reading Program Archive

If you have questions about the Political Economy Reading Program, or if you would like to receive updates and announcements about future programs, please contact the Free Market Institute at free.market@ttu.edu or 806.742.7138.