Hillsdale College Hutchison Center Welcomes Katherine Wright ’18 as First Post-Doctoral Fellow
Wright’s research focuses on water rights, water markets, and free-market alternatives to environmental regulation.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Hutchison Center for Commerce and Freedom recently welcomed Katherine Wright ’18 as its first Herbert R. Hutchison Post-Doctoral Fellow. Wright’s research focuses on water rights, water markets, and free-market alternatives to environmental regulation.
“It is exciting to welcome Katherine back to Hillsdale for this fellowship,” said Professor of Economics Charles Steele, director of the Hutchison Center. “She is doing ground-breaking research to show how property rights and free markets can address natural resource scarcity, bringing together her Hillsdale education and her economic expertise to come up with innovative solutions to challenges facing our communities.”
“She is doing ground-breaking research to show how property rights and free markets can address natural resource scarcity.”
Wright is an expert in water policy who develops durable, market-based solutions to resource scarcity through institutions, property rights, and stakeholder collaboration. Her research focuses on how water transfers impact agriculture, regional development, and community resilience, with a strong commitment to data transparency, especially in her work on the Great Salt Lake.
Her insights also extend to other natural resources like fisheries and land use, and her work has been featured in outlets like the Deseret News and various podcasts. A Hillsdale College alumna with a Ph.D. from Arizona State, Wright is also an ultramarathon runner, rock climber, and vocalist who finds creative inspiration in both nature and music.
“Freedom and cooperation offer a way to address resource scarcity, even where regulation has failed,” Wright said. “By looking to free markets, we can find creative solutions that consider everyone’s interests and protect everyone’s rights.”
“By looking to free markets, we can find creative solutions that consider everyone’s interests and protect everyone’s rights.”
The Herbert R. Hutchison Post-Doctoral Fellowship is a two-year post-doctoral position funded by a generous grant from Herb and Cheryl Hutchison of Alabama. It is designed to foster research in economics and business disciplines that relies on Hillsdale’s distinctive approaches to economics, business, and education, while remaining of interest to wider audiences. In addition to research, the post-doctoral fellow will work with Hillsdale students, give occasional public presentations for the College on aspects of the research work, and participate in the Herb and Cheryl Hutchison Annual Business Conference and other events.
The object of the Hutchison Center for Commerce and Freedom is to advance the study of the role of commerce in human flourishing. The center examines commerce in economic as well as historical, philosophical, cultural, and political contexts, knitting together the elements of a free society: commerce, property rights, education, and self-government. The Center recognizes that freedom is a prerequisite for successful commerce and a prosperous society.