Eric Rasmusen

{{Short description|American economist (Indiana University)}}

{{about|the American economist|other people|Eric Rasmussen (disambiguation)}}

Eric Rasmusen is an American economist and former Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at Indiana University Bloomington.{{Cite web|url=https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.cshtml?id=ERASMUSE|title=Faculty Profile|website=Kelley School of Business|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=2019-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214203824/https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.cshtml?id=ERASMUSE|url-status=live}} He is the author of the book Games and Information: An Introduction to Game Theory.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XEMuJwnBmUC|title=Games and Information: An Introduction to Game Theory|last=Rasmusen|first=Eric|date=2006-11-28|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-4051-3666-2|language=en|access-date=2021-04-23|archive-date=2023-03-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314024043/https://books.google.com/books?id=5XEMuJwnBmUC|url-status=live}}

In November 2019, Rasmusen was criticized by his university after a popular Twitter account posted a screenshot of one of his tweets that the Indiana University provost called "racist, sexist, and homophobic."{{Cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2019/11/20/indiana-university-iu-professor-tweets-women-gay-men-academia/4255142002/|title=IU won't fire professor for tweets provost called 'racist, sexist and homophobic'|website=Indianapolis Star|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=2019-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121081738/https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2019/11/20/indiana-university-iu-professor-tweets-women-gay-men-academia/4255142002/|url-status=live}} Rasmusen had retweeted an article titled "Are Women Destroying Academia? Probably" with a quote: "geniuses are overwhelmingly male because they combine outlier IQ with moderately low Agreeableness and Moderately low Conscientiousness."

The university stated that they could not fire Rasmusen "because the first amendment of the United States constitution forbids us to do so".{{cite news |last1=Noor |first1=Poppy |title=University decries professor's 'vile' racism and sexism – but says it can't fire him |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/22/indiana-university-bloomington-eric-rasmusen-racist-sexist-tweets |accessdate=November 22, 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=November 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122163023/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/22/indiana-university-bloomington-eric-rasmusen-racist-sexist-tweets |url-status=live }} Rasmusen posted a rebuttal to his personal website, in which he defended his Twitter activity and argued that he was being silenced for "dissident" beliefs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2019/11/21/indiana-university-professor-eric-rasmusen-defends-tweets/4259448002/|title=Indiana University professor Eric Rasmusen fires back and digs in on offensive tweets|last=Herron|first=Arika|website=Indianapolis Star|language=en|access-date=2019-11-21|archive-date=2019-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122043659/https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2019/11/21/indiana-university-professor-eric-rasmusen-defends-tweets/4259448002/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.rasmusen.org/special/2019kerfuffle/provost.htm|title=Rasmusen.org|last=|first=|date=|website=www.rasmusen.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121231720/http://www.rasmusen.org/special/2019kerfuffle/provost.htm|archive-date=2019-11-21|access-date=2019-11-21}} Rasmusen retired in 2021.