John Garen is the BB&T Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Gatton College of the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of the faculty from 1985 through 2021. Dr. Garen received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1982 and has served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, a Visiting Scholar at the Mercatus Center, at National Sun Yat-Sen University, and at National Taiwan Normal University. He was the founding director of the Gatton College’s Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise, served as Department Chair from 2005-2009, and during 2004-2005 he was Co-Director of the Gatton College’s Center for Business and Economic Research.
Dr. Garen’s research has focused on the economics of organizations, human resource economics, and the role of government in society. He has published on a wide variety of economic issues in academic journals, as well as authoring numerous reports and articles for the Bluegrass Institute and other organizations.
