Hoppe and Kinsella, Rothbard’s Evaluation and Syllabus

— From Rothbard at 100: A Tribute and Assessment, Stephan Kinsella and Hans-Hermann Hoppe, eds. (Houston: Papinian Press and Property and Freedom Society, 2026) —

Appendix
Rothbard’s UNLV Evaluation and Syllabus

Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Stephan Kinsella

Below have included some interesting material pertaining to Murray Rothbard’s career at UNLV, which was mentioned in several entries in this volume. Jeff Barr sent Rothbard’s Syllabus for Economics 742, on the History of Economic Thought, from Fall 1994, the last semester Rothbard ever taught.

The remaining pages are from Doug French, and includes Rothbard’s annual faculty review at UNLV by Chairman Thayer (1991), followed by Rothbard’s draft comment in reply, and two letters from Rothbard to Doug French (Dec. 3, 1992 and Dec. 11, 1992). The last page is Rothbard’s Economics 742, Final Exam, Fall 1990.

Doug French explains this latter set of documents:

Memo from Douglas E. French to Stephan Kinsella
Feb. 17, 2026

In his letter of December 3, 1992 Murray commiserated with my complaints about the rejections I had received from mainstream academic journals of my tulipmania article, taken from my thesis.¹ Although he says I should not bother trying to satisfy referees, in the same sentence he suggests another journal to try.

He goes on to explain in detail what’s going on with moving the economics department from the school of business to liberal arts. The “jailbreak.” I was especially interested because Murray talked of starting a PhD program once the move was made.

By the end of the letter he suggested another journal to submit to, before writing that he would publish it in the Review of Austrian Economics.

His letter of December 11, 1993 continued with discussion of the “monstrous” rejections, but makes three more journal suggestions. He mentions signing a contract for the three volume History of Economic Thought. He hadn’t started volume 3 when he wrote the letter. He writes of starting, with Hans, a Nevada Economic Society. It must have died with Murray.

He next goes into the 1994 Presidential campaign answering a (dumb) question I had. The move to liberal arts was dead by then after the Administration had provided encouragement and the last paragraph is about economics department politics which I always asked about. In his P.S. he mentioned the Nevada Policy Research Institute. I would write for them years later.

On the last day I saw him, December 1994, just three or four weeks before he died, Murray gave me a copy of Chairman Thayer’s evaluation and his priceless rebuke. I can’t explain why it’s dated 1991. I did the highlighting.

Rothbard’s Syllabus for Economics 742, on the History of Economic Thought, Fall 1994