Gary Becker

Gary Becker
Gary Becker speaking in Chicago, May 24, 2008
Born	Gary Stanley Becker (1930-12-02)December 2, 1930 Pottsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 3, 2014(2014-05-03) (aged 83) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Institution	University of Chicago (1968–2014) Columbia University (1957–1968)
Field	Social economics
School or tradition	Chicago School of Economics
Alma mater	Princeton University University of Chicago
Doctoral advisor	H. Gregg Lewis
Influences	Milton Friedman Theodore Schultz
Influenced	Roland G. Fryer, Jr. David O. Meltzer
Contributions	Analysis of human capital Rotten kid theorem
Awards	John Bates Clark Medal (1967) Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1992) Pontifical Academy of Sciences (1997) National Medal of Science (2000) John von Neumann Award (2004) Presidential Medal of Freedom (2007)
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

Gary Stanley Becker (December 2, 1930 – May 3, 2014) was an American economist. He was a professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago. Described as “the most important social scientist in the past 50 years” by the New York Times, Becker was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1992 and received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. A 2011 survey of economics professors named Becker their favorite living economist over the age of 60, followed by Ken Arrow and Robert Solow.

Becker was one of the first economists to branch into what were traditionally considered topics belonging to sociology, including racial discrimination, crime, family organization, and drug addiction (see rational addiction). He was known for arguing that many different types of human behavior can be seen as rational and utility maximizing. His approach included altruistic behavior of human behavior by defining individuals' utility appropriately. He was also among the foremost exponents of the study of human capital. Becker was also credited with the "rotten kid theorem."

Born to a Jewish family in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Becker earned a B.A. at Princeton University in 1951, and a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1955 with thesis titled The Economics of Racial Discrimination. At Chicago, Becker was influenced by Milton Friedman, whom Becker called "by far the greatest living teacher I have ever had" He taught at Columbia University from 1957 to 1968, and then returned to the University of Chicago. In 1965 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Becker was a founding partner of TGG Group, a business and philanthropy consulting company. Becker won the John Bates Clark Medal in 1967. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972, and was a member (and for a time the President) of the Mont Pelerin Society. Becker also received the National Medal of Science in 2000.