Prizes and Awards

SDAE Prizes and Awards


The SDAE recognizes its members with prizes and awards. Announcements and presentations are made at the Annual Dinner and Business Meeting program, hosted during the Southern Economic Association (SEA) Annual Meeting each year. See below for information about the prizes and awards presented at the 2024 SDAE Annual Dinner and Business Meeting, hosted at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. Listings of other past SDAE prizes and awards can also be accessed from this page.


SDAE Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to Austrian Economics

Award Presentation at the SDAE Annual Dinner and Business Meeting
Washington Hilton
Washington, DC

Lawrence H. White, George Mason University
The SDAE recognized Larry White with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contributions to Austrian Economics. Larry's pioneering work has greatly advanced our understanding of the theory and history of money and banking and inspired many others to make successful careers out of following in his footsteps. Larry served as the SDAE President in 2013. His Presidential Address, 'Austerian' Economics: Does the Vienna School Favor Fiscal Deficit Reduction Even in a Subpar Economy?, is published in volume 27 of The Review of Austrian Economics. The SDAE has also previously Larry’s scholarly work in Austrian Economics with the Prize for the Best Book in Austrian Economics in 2013 and 2023 and the Prize for the Best Article in Austrian Economics in 1996 and 2010.

SDAE Prize for the Best Book in Austrian Economics

2024 SDAE Prize for The Best Book in Austrian Economics

Award Presentation at the SDAE Annual Dinner and Business Meeting
Washington Hilton
Washington, DC

Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy
Randall G. Holcombe, Florida State University
Cambridge University Press (2023)

SDAE Prizes for the Best Book in Austrian Economics (1997-2024)


SDAE Prize for the Best Article in Austrian Economics

2024 SDAE Prize for The Best Article in Austrian Economics

Award Presentation at the SDAE Annual Dinner and Business Meeting
Washington Hilton
Washington, DC

Bargaining over Beauty: The Economics of Contracts in Renaissance Art Markets
Ennio E. Piano, University of Mississippi
Peter Hazlett, George Mason University
Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 66, Issue 2: 225-257 (2023)

SDAE Prize for the Best Article in Austrian Economics (1996-2024)


Steven Horwitz Prize for Public Scholarship

“Economics must not be relegated to classrooms and statistical offices and must not be left to esoteric circles. It is the philosophy of human life and action and concerns everybody and everything. It is the pith of civilization and of man’s human existence.” (Excerpted from Ludwig von Mises, “Economics and the Citizen,” Human Action, 1949)

Steven Horwitz was a founding member of the SDAE, one of its early presidents, and served for many years as its secretary. Steve was a central figure at the SDAE for the first quarter century of its existence. Over and above his academic work, Steve became known as an excellent popularizer of economic ideas, demonstrating that economics is not just or even primarily for experts: it is a science for citizens, empowering them to practice self-governance in a free society. To honor this legacy, the SDAE announced and presented the inaugural Steven Horwitz Prize for Public Scholarship at its 2022 Annual Dinner and Business Meeting.

2022 SDAE Steven Horwitz Prize for Public Scholarship

Jeremy Horpedahl
University of Central Arkansas

Carl Menger Essay Contest

2024 Carl Menger Essay Contest

Award Presentations at the SDAE Annual Dinner and Business Meeting
Washington Hilton
Washington, DC

Carl Menger Essay Contest (2014-2024)

Don Lavoie Memorial Graduate Student Essay Competition

The SDAE sponsored the Don Lavoie Memorial Graduate Student Essay Competition from 2002-2019. Most of the award-winning submissions have since been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and other scholarly publications. Several of the award winners have subsequently served or currently serve the SDAE in leadership positions and have received other professional awards and recognition from the SDAE. Visit the link below to view a listing of awardees and publications.

Don Lavoie Memorial Graduate Student Essay Competition (2002-2019)