Daniel Bennett named Center for Free Enterprise director

Daniel Bennett has been named director of the Center for Free Enterprise at the University of Louisville College of Business. In his new role, Bennett plans to expand the center’s research on entrepreneurship and economic freedom while continuing its undergraduate reading groups and public lecture series, giving students and community members opportunities to examine economic issues and consider different perspectives. 

Previously the CFE’s associate director, Bennett joined UofL in fall 2020 and has spent the past six years working alongside former center director Steve Gohmann on student programming and research initiatives. “I am excited to continue the legacy of my predecessor, Steve Gohmann, by providing high-quality student programs such as our undergraduate reading groups and public lecture series,” he said. The reading groups give students opportunities to discuss books on important and often contentious topics in political economy and free enterprise. The lecture series brings public intellectuals and business leaders to campus to share their experiences and expertise with students and the community.

Ideas in common

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Bennett and Gohmann’s research partnership began at the 2019 Public Choice Society annual conference in Louisville, where both approached a presenter with a similar idea for a study. The resulting collaboration examined how political coups influence institutional change and was published in the Journal of Comparative Economics. The opportunity to work with Gohmann and the CFE later helped draw Bennett to UofL. 

“I have always appreciated Steve’s generosity with his time and energy, as well as his commitment to investing in the next generation of scholars and business leaders,” Bennett said. Gohmann expressed confidence in Bennett’s ability to lead the center. “He definitely understands the CFE and what we’re doing, but he’s also just a really good researcher and very organized,” he said. 

Understanding enterprise 

Bennett, who also serves as the program director for the college's PhD in Entrepreneurship program, has helped expand research opportunities for faculty and doctoral students. With Gohmann's support, he organized research seminars and paper development workshops and established a visiting scholars program. Gohmann said the workshops brought graduate students from around the world together with experienced faculty to receive feedback and develop their research. 

Bennett's own scholarship examines how institutions and public policies shape entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. He studies the conditions that encourage people to develop new products and create value for others, as well as those that make it more rewarding to pursue political favors than to compete in the marketplace. 

His 2021 article, "Local Economic Freedom and Creative Destruction in America," found that cities with increasing economic freedom tended to have higher rates of business and job creation, with no discernible effect on business and job destruction. Bennett describes economic freedom as institutions and policies that protect private property, support voluntary exchange and open competition and allow people to make their own economic decisions. 

More recently, research published in the Journal of Business Venturing examined state reforms that reduce the enforceability of noncompete agreements. Bennett and his coauthors found that these changes can increase high-growth entrepreneurship, though expanding federal regulation can weaken those benefits. Improvements in local economic freedom can help offset those effects, highlighting the importance of considering policies together. 

Bennett serves as an editor of Small Business Economics, where he and Gohmann coedited a special issue on the political economy of entrepreneurship. The project grew from a paper development workshop they hosted with the Institute for Humane Studies and brought together scholars examining how political and institutional conditions influence entrepreneurial activity. Bennett also currently serves as an editor of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 

As CFE director, Bennett plans to build on that work through research seminars, paper development workshops and visiting appointments, while continuing to support faculty and doctoral students. He hopes these efforts will help establish the CFE as an internationally recognized center for research on the political economy of entrepreneurship. “I am pursuing external funding to expand these efforts, invest in the next generation of scholars and share our research with audiences beyond academia,” he said. 

About the UofL College of Business: 

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people. 

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