Consulting

I take on outside work as an advisor, editor, seminar leader, and invited speaker in three areas where my research and teaching give me something distinctive to offer: economics curriculum, seminars on Adam Smith and the history of economic thought, and ethics and epistemology for intelligence professionals.

My academic home at JMU gives this work a research and teaching foundation; my prior work as a CIA analyst gives it a practical one. I'm glad to hear from publishers, think tanks, training programs, foundations, and academic institutions with projects in these areas.

Areas of work

Economics curriculum and textbook advising. Advising on the design, content, and accuracy of economics curricula — from high school and undergraduate courses to adult and professional education. Well-suited to projects that require both economic rigor and attention to how ideas are taught.

Seminar design and leadership: Adam Smith and the history of economic thought. Designing and leading post-graduate and professional seminars on Smith, the Scottish Enlightenment, classical liberalism, and related themes. Past engagements include the Invisible Hands seminar developed with the American Enterprise Institute.

Ethics and epistemology for intelligence professionals. Guest lectures, workshops, and advisory work on the ethical and epistemological foundations of analytic practice — including tacit knowledge, structured analytic techniques, bias and judgment, and ethics training design. This builds on my research in the field and my prior analytic work, and I welcome inquiries about training material review, curriculum consulting, and invited talks.

Selected engagements

American Enterprise Institute — Invisible Hands: Adam Smith on Friendship, Community, and Prosperity Co-author, with Erik Matson, of AEI's post-graduate seminar on Adam Smith's moral and political economy. The seminar examines Smith's account of friendship, community, and prosperity and its relevance to contemporary questions. I also led the pilot seminar in Indianapolis. [AEI Adam Smith Seminar]

Ramsey Education — Foundations in Economics Primary economic advisor on Foundations in Economics, Ramsey Education's high school economics curriculum now in national use. The course spans eleven chapters and forty-nine lessons covering scarcity, markets, trade, monetary and fiscal policy, and macroeconomic theory, and is aligned to state and national economics standards. [Ramsey Education]

Inquiries

I'm happy to discuss projects, timelines, and rates.

Work is conducted through J Robinson Consulting, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company.