Clarence Edwin Ayres (May 6, 1891 – July 24, 1972) was the principal thinker in the Texas school of institutional economics during the middle of the 20th century.

Following a year at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Ayres became associate editor of the New Republic, where he worked until 1927.

In that year, Ayres joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he remained until his retirement in 1968.

[1] Ayres is best known for developing an economic philosophy stemming from the works of Thorstein Veblen and John Dewey.

Ayres's attack on dualism and "higher values" [citation needed] was the key reason why his student Talcott Parsons rejected his ideas.