Dr. Hal Snarr

September 27, 2024

Hal, the son of a third-generation Idaho potato farmer, was raised by a determined single mother who juggled multiple jobs to support their family during challenging economic times. While earning minimum wage washing dishes, Hal played high school football and basketball. After dropping out of college during his sophomore year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear power plant operator. He later worked as a maintenance technician at a Michigan float glass factory after dropping out of college a second time. When he returned to college a third time, he discovered his passion for mathematics, which led him to discover economics in Idaho State University’s Master’s in Mathematics program.

In 2004, Hal earned his Ph.D. in economics from Washington State University, launching his teaching career. He has taught economics, statistics, and analytics at several institutions, including Duke University, Westminster College, Mercy University, and is currently an economics professor at North Carolina A&T State University. Hal is deeply committed to innovative teaching and education, creating instructional content for his YouTube channel, the Snarr Institute, and engaging in public commentary through platforms like the Mises Institute and the Stocks and Jocks radio show.

His research focuses on the effects of government policy on small businesses and households in the bottom half of the income distribution, and he regularly publishes short economic analyses. Outside the classroom, Hal enjoys refereeing high school basketball and traveling with his wife, a first-generation Haitian-American, and their four children. They currently reside in Burlington, North Carolina.