This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Review
  4. May 2015
  5. Gary Becker's Impact on Economics and Policy

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Gary Becker's Impact on Economics and Policy

  • Edward P. Lazear
American Economic Review
vol. 105, no. 5, May 2015
(pp. 80–84)
Download Full Text PDF

Abstract

Gary Becker was one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. He advanced social science by introducing economic thinking into areas that were thought to be off limits. Because his theory was motivated by his desire to explain the world, his analyses were highly policy relevant. His work on discrimination, deterrence of crime, fertility, human capital, and the family all produced implications that were testable and verified by his and others' empirical research. Equally important, each research area provided policy guidance and many of his ideas have been implemented by government and non-government organizations.

Citation

Lazear, Edward P. 2015. "Gary Becker's Impact on Economics and Policy." American Economic Review, 105 (5): 80–84. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20151107

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • B31 History of Economic Thought: Individuals
  • D04 Microeconomic Policy: Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation
  • E61 Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination