John Blundell (9 October 1952 – 22 July 2014) was a British economist who served as Director General and the Ralph Harris Fellow at the

Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...

. Blundell had been involved in the creation and development of numerous free-market think tanks.

Early life

Born in Congleton, Cheshire, on 9 October 1952, he was educated at

The King's School, Macclesfield The King's School, Macclesfield, is an independent school for day pupils in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of Lon ...

, and at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Career

He headed the Press, Research and Parliamentary Liaison Office at the

Federation of Small Businesses The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...

from 1977 to 1982, and was a

Lambeth London Borough Council Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Ha ...

lor from 1978 to 1982. From 1982 to 1993 he was resident in the United States, where he was President of the

Institute for Humane Studies The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...

(1988–1991), President of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (1987–1991), President of the Board of the Congressional Schools of Virginia (1988–1992) and President of the Charles G. Koch and Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundations (1991–1992)."The Author".
Blundell, John
''Waging the War of Ideas''.
London:

, 2003
p. 9.
/ . Blundell became Director General of the

on 1 January 1993. In addition he served as Co-founder and Chairman of the Institute for Children in Boston, Massachusetts (1993–1997); Founder and Director of the

Institute for Justice The Institute for Justice (IJ) is a libertarian non-profit public interest law firm in the United States. It has litigated ten cases before the United States Supreme Court dealing with eminent domain, interstate commerce, public financing for ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

(1991–1993); International Trustee of The Fraser Institute in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

(1988–1993); and Founder Trustee of the Buckeye Institute in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Blundell was a Director of Fairbridge and of the

International Policy Network The International Policy Network (IPN) was a think tank based in the City of London, founded 1971, and closed in September 2011. It was a non-partisan, non-profit organization, but critics said it was a "corporate-funded campaigning group". IPN ...

, and Chairman of the Institute Development and Relations Committee on the board of Atlas Economic Research Foundation. He was also a board member of the

at George Mason University in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

; of the Institute of Economic Studies in Paris, France; and, until 2012, of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...

Death

Blundell died on 22 July 2014 at the age of 61.

Works

Books *''Female Force: Ayn Rand'', with Todd Tennant and Jaymes Reed. Bluewater Productions, 2011. . *''Government Failure'', with Alan Peacock, Otmar Issing, Richard Allen Epstein, Carolyn Fairbairn, David B. Smith, Geoffrey Edward Wood, James Tooley and David Graham. London:

, 2003. . *''Ladies For Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American History''. Algora Publishing, 2011. . *''Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady''. Algora Publishing, 2008. . *''Regulation Without the State: The Debate Continues'', with Colin Robinson. London:

, 2000. .
''Waging the War of Ideas''.
London:

, 2003. . Articles
"Arthur Seldon CBE and the IEA".
''

Liberty Fund Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American private educational foundation headquartered in Carmel, founded by Pierre F. Goodrich. Through publishing, conferences, and educational resources, the operating mandate of the Liberty Fund was set forth in an un ...

'', November 2013.
"IHS and the Rebirth of Austrian Economics: Some Reflections on 1974–1976".
'' The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics'', Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring 2014, pp. 92-107.

References

External links

*
Video collection
on NewMedia,

Universidad Francisco Marroquín Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical ...

.
''Arthur Seldon, the Institute of Economic Affairs, and the Battle for Liberty in Britain''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blundell, John 1952 births 2014 deaths People from Congleton People educated at The King's School, Macclesfield Alumni of the London School of Economics British economists Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth Austrian School economists