Eric Alston

About Eric Alston

Eric Alston is a Scholar in Residence in the Finance Division and the Faculty Director of the Hernando de Soto Capital Markets Program in the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. He also serves as a Research Associate with the Comparative Constitutions Project. Alston received his MA in Economics from the University of Maryland and his JD from the University of Chicago. His research and teaching is centered in the fields of law and economics and institutional and organizational analysis, the conceptual and methodological toolkits of which he applies to questions in the development of rights along frontiers, the design and implementation of constitutions, and digital governance challenges with an emphasis on cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Alston’s publications include constitutional design studies, the emergence of economic institutions in the frontier US West, and a range of questions in the design and governance of blockchain networks. His current grant work involves a National Science Foundation project exploring the development of Colorado given land entry records and census data, and a Templeton World Charity Foundation project examining quantitative measures of digital currency market development and manipulation. Alston’s outreach and service activities include advising constitutional design projects, as well as providing a range of governance design expertise for digitally networked organizations, including one of the world’s first data trusts.

Experience

1. Research Associate

   University Of Chicago Law School

   Jun 2011 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Analyze draft constitutions from the perspective of federalism, government structure, and devolution of power- Synthesize, edit, and proof reports from numerous scholars on constitutional reform- Provide rapid-response analysis of institutions in nascent countries- Apply a set of constitutional principles underlying systematic analysis of national constitutions- Coded, indexed, and translated constitutions from Turkmenistan to Venezuela to Honduras

Education

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  B.A., Economics and Spanish

  2000 — 2004

• University of Maryland

  M.A., Economics

  2006 — 2008

• University of Chicago

  Doctor of Law (J.D.)

  2011 — 2014

Skills

• Democracy
• Statistical Modeling
• Administrative Work
• Qualitative Research
• Legal Writing
• Economic Development
• Catalan
• Policy Analysis
• Economic Research
• Spanish
• Data Analysis
• Public Policy
• Community Outreach
• Grant Writing
• Econometrics
• Program Evaluation
• Stata
• Government
• Nonprofits
• Microsoft Office
• Politics
• Report Writing
• Human Rights
• Civil Society
• Sas
• International Development
• Editing
• Proposal Writing
• Microsoft Excel
• Powerpoint
• Academia
• Analysis
• Program Management
• Research
• Policy
• Economics
• Interpersonal Communication Abilities
• International Relations
• Statistics