A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Tollison attended local Wofford College where he earned an A.B.

He was on the editorial boards for the Journal of Sports Economics, Constitutional Political Economy,[3] and Public Choice.

As parliament refused to delegate its newly won powers to anybody, any prospective monopolist had to secure majorities in the legislature as well as the acquiescence of the king.... [T]he authors stress the similarity between mercantilism and present-day economic regulation, despite the changes in the political system.

[8] Robert Tollison came to the attention of the tobacco industry in 1977 when he co-authored an article: "Rational Choice and the Taxation of Sin", in the Journal of Public Economics, attacking the way governments imposed "their moral code upon consumers of goods that are thought to be undesirable.

"[9] He was a professor of economics at Virginia Polytechnic at the time, and also the executive director of the Center for Study of Public Choice.