Richard W. Rahn  is an economist, syndicated columnist, and entrepreneur.  Currently he is Chairman of Improbable Success Productions and the Institute for Global Economic Growth.  He writes a syndicated weekly economic column which is published in The Washington Times, Real Clear Markets and many other places, and is a member of  the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review.  Previously, he served as: the Vice President and Chief Economist of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States; the Executive Director of the American Council for Capital Formation; as a member of the Board of Directors of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority; as the U.S. co-chairman of the Bulgarian Economic Growth and Transition Project (1990-91); as a member of the Quadrennial Social Security Advisory Council (appointed by President Reagan in 1982); and as an economic advisor to President G.H.W. Bush (in the 1988 Presidential campaign).  In 1990, he founded the Novecon companies, which included Novecon Financial Ltd., Novecopter, and Sterling Semiconductor (now owned by Dow Corning).  He has taught in graduate schools at several universities, and for the U.S. Air Force.  He is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, and has served as a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, the Hudson Institute, and the Discovery Institute; and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation.  He has written more than a thousand articles for newspaper, magazines and professional journals, such as the Wall Street Journal..  As an economic commentator, he has appeared on such programs as the Today Show, Kudlow and Co., the PBS Newshour and Crossfire, and was a weekly commentator for Radio America.  He has testified before the U.S. Congress on economic issues more than seventy-five times.  He earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Pepperdine University.