Prof. Luigi Zingales was one of the most articulate opponents of the TARP financial bailout in 2008. I cited his arguments against the TARP when I was arguing that it was a terrible mistake. Because I respect his judgment on these matters, it is a little surprising to me that he wrote an article endorsing Paul Ryan as a desirable presidential candidate. Prof. Zingales wrote (via Aaron Goldstein):

Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan says that he’s not running, and I assume he means it, but the GOP clearly needs a candidate more like Ryan than like Mitt Romney, currently the party’s leading candidate and a favorite of the establishment. A candidate in Ryan’s mold, from the Jack Kemp tradition of libertarian conservatives who helped make the GOP great, would be a strong believer in free markets who is not beholden to the bailout-addicted big-business establishment. This kind of candidate, if the GOP could only find him, could win in 2012 and help get the nation’s economy back on track.

I have no idea why Prof. Zingales believes that Paul Ryan is “not beholden to the bailout-addicted big-business establishment.” Paul Ryan voted for the TARP, and has given no indication as far as I know that he believes that this vote was a mistake. On the question of bailouts generally and the TARP in particular, Ryan and Romney are essentially indistinguishable. One can either conclude that Ryan abandoned “the Jack Kemp tradition of libertarian conservatives” that Prof. Zingales praises, or one can accept that Ryan’s support for the TARP didn’t matter, but I don’t see how Ryan wins anyone’s support as an anti-establishment foe of bailouts.