Gary S. Becker
Chair, Becker Friedman Institute
University Professor in Economics, Sociology, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Gary Becker, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1992, is best known for research that illuminates how economic decisions influence people’s lives. His work has extended economic analysis to decisions made by families, the effects of discrimination on minorities’ earnings and employment, and how changes in family composition affect inequality and economic growth.
Becker has authored or co-authored such books as Social Economics, The Economics of Life, Accounting for Tastes, A Treatise on the Family, The Economic Approach to Human Behavior, and The Allocation of Time and Goods Over the Life Cycle.
In 2000, Becker received the National Medal of Science in recognition of his work. In 2007, Becker was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Activities
Events
- New Directions in the Economic Analysis of Education (Organizer)
- In Memory of Rose Director Friedman (Speaker)
- Honoring Gary Becker (Honoree)
- Matching and Price Theory (Organizer)
Chicago-Renmin Symposium on Family and Labor Economics (Organizer)
Papers Presented
- Terminal Care and the Value of Life Near Its End
- Explaining the World Wide Boom in Higher Education of Women