Peter T. Leeson (born July 29, 1979) is an American economist and the Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University.

[3] Leeson is known for extending rational choice theory into unusual domains,[4][5][6] such as to the study of bizarre rituals and superstitions, and to the behavior of Caribbean pirates.

[7][8][9] As Freakonomics coauthor Steven Levitt put it, "the amazing thing about Pete Leeson is that he takes these crazy topics and through a brilliant mix of meticulous historical research, data gathering, and creative economic thinking he shows that these seemingly nonsensical practices actually make a whole lot of sense...

[14] Leeson proposed marriage to his now-wife, Ania, in the preface of his book The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates.

[19] Leeson's Invisible Hook argues that Caribbean pirates developed an early form of constitutional democracy and engaged in behaviors such as flying the Jolly Roger because doing so maximized their profit.

[22][23][24][25] In an article published by National Public Radio, he said that "early 18th century pirates, men like Blackbeard, "Black Bart" Roberts, and "Calico" Jack Rackam, were not only thieves.

In an interview published by The New York Times, Leeson summarized his thesis: The idea of the invisible hook is that pirates, though they're criminals, are still driven by their self-interest.

[25]CGP Grey's two-video animated YouTube adaptation of Leeson's Invisible Hook has been viewed more than 10 million times.

On the contrary, peace overwhelmingly prevails between the world's countries, international trade is flourishing, and Somali development has improved under statelessness.

[36]The Atlas Economic Research Foundation's Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders awarded Leeson its Hayek Prize in 2006, noting of his scholarship that: Leeson has concentrated on the study of the problem of order where no formal law exists, showing how in such diverse situations as trade among strangers, banditry in colonial West Central Africa and modern Somalia, and life in pirate societies over the ages often informal rules emerge that allow order to be preserved without heavy-handed government control.