Professor Landsburg was an undergraduate at the University of Rochester, but never completed his undergraduate requirements due to his failure to take a physical education course. He was awarded a Masters degree after he enrolled in his own course when he became a professor at the school. Landsburg received a PhD in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1979.

He also spent time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Andre Weil: 1906-1998 Andre Weil by Steven E

Popular writings

Landsburg currently writes a column on "everyday economics" for Slate magazine. The subjects of the columns are diverse and often draw on current affairs. Landsburg has discussed the national debt, the obesity crisis, payments to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in New Orleans and salary caps in the NFL. Alternatively, Landsburg discusses recent research in micro-economics and its implications. In this vein, he has discussed the value of mobile phones and driving, the (career) cost of motherhood, and whether or not daughters (as opposed to sons) cause divorce.

Landsburg has even addressed legal issues: in a Slate column from 2003, he proposed punishing jurors when a jury's decision is later "proven" to be wrong, such as when an acquitted defendant later admits to committing the crime. If a jury's judgement is later "proven" to be right, Landsburg suggested the jurors should be financially rewarded

Landsburg has been particularly critical of mainstream environmentalism having devoted both Slate columns and book chapters (in The Armchair Economist) to attack environmentalist principles. As a self-described "hardcore libertarian", Landsburg emphasizes the importance of individual choice The Volokh Conspiracy. This position extends to health care, and his view that those who choose no insurance should not receive (potentially life saving) treatment Do the poor deserve life support? - By Steven E. Landsburg - Slate Magazine. This position was asserted partly as a response to an article published by Daily Kos .

Landsburg supports free trade and opposes protectionism, and his writings in the topic have appeared in various newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times What to Expect When You’re Free Trading - New York Times and the Washington Post. Landsburg's comparison of protectionism to racism in Forbes magazine Xenophobia and Politics - Forbes.com prompted a response from Pat Buchanan Is Protectionism Racism?. On April 8, 2005, Landsburg debated protectionism and free trade with John Gibson on the Fox News Channel's The Big Story FOXNews.com - Is Buying American Racist? - John Gibson | Judge Napolitano | John Gibson | Big Story Weekend. Before the 2004 presidential election Landsburg stated that he planned to vote against John Kerry because of his belief that John Edwards, Kerry's running mate, was a "xenophobe" due to his opposition to free trade. He compared Edwards' views to David Duke's racism Slate votes. - - Slate Magazine.

He has also reviewed popular economics books Freakonomics The Wall Street Journal Online - Leisure & Arts and The Undercover Economist The Wall Street Journal Online - Leisure & Arts for the Wall Street Journal.

Academic writings

Landsburg's articles in academic journals have dealt with many fields, including algebraic K-theory, module patching, quantum game theory, philosophy of science and moral philosophy.

Selected publications follow.

Mathematics

• K-theory and patching for categories of complexes, Duke Mathematics Journal, Vol. 62, No. 2, March 1991, pp. 359—384.
• Relative Cycles and Algebraic K-Theory, American Journal of Mathematics, Vol. 111, No. 4, August 1989, pp. 599—632.

Teaching

Professor Landsburg teaches intermediate and advanced microeconomics and introductory and intermediate macroeconomics at the University of Rochester Class Description Lookup. He was promoted from adjunct associate professor to professor during the 2005-2006 academic year and in 2007 he received the University's Professor of the Year in Social Sciences award Professor of the Year recipients honored - News.

For several years, Landsburg served on the board of directors of Hutchinson Technology, a manufacturer of suspension assemblies for disk drives.

Landsburg lives in Rochester, NY. In his spare time he reads poetry and enjoys crossword puzzles. He has one daughter, named Cayley, who was featured in his book Fair Play.

He has eastern European Jewish heritage.