Liya Palagashvili on the Startup Mindset: How to Build a Career in Economics

On this episode of the Hayek Program Podcast, Peter Boettke and Liya Palagashvili reflect on her journey from undergraduate student organizer to public intellectual, policy analyst, and Director of the Labor Policy Project. They discuss how Liya has approached her career with a startup mindset — exploring her work on the gig economy and portable benefits to create more dynamic and resilient labor markets. Along the way, they reflect on the importance of mentorship, “failing fast,” and the tension between holding a strong vision while remaining open to new evidence. Dr. Liya Palagashvili (https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/liy...) is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and an alum of the Mercatus PhD Fellowship. Her research focuses on labor regulations, the gig economy, and the changing nature of work. She regularly writes for her Substack, Labor Market Matters (https://liyapalagashvili.substack.com/) . *This episode was recorded on March 31, 2026* Show Notes: • Mary Catherine Bateson, Composing a Life (https://groveatlantic.com/book/compos...) (Grove Press, 2001) • Casey B. Mulligan, The Redistribution Recession: How Labor Market Distortions Contracted the Economy (https://global.oup.com/academic/produ...) (Oxford University Press, 2014) • Edited by Richard A. Epstein, Mario J. Rizzo, and Liya Palagashvili, The Routledge Handbook of Classical Liberalism (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/o...) (Routledge, 2026) • Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-book/) (Scribner, 2016) • ParentData (https://parentdata.org/join-today/?ut...) If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts. Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments (https://www.mercatus.org/hayekprogram...) is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today! Follow the Hayek Program (  / hayekprogram  ) on Twitter: @HayekProgram Follow the Mercatus Center (  / mercatus  ) on Twitter: @mercatus CC Music: Twisterium