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Gary Becker

Gary Becker Quotes

Economist

Gary Becker was a distinguished economist known for his research on human capital, criminology, demography, labor economics, and public choice. His interdisciplinary approach applied economic principles to non-market areas, making significant contributions to the development of economics.

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Famous Gary Becker Quotes

“Along with others, I have tried to pry economists away from narrow assumptions about self interest. Behavior is driven by a much richer set of values and preferences.”

Self Values Interest Behavior Driven Assumption Economist Preference Self Interest

Book:The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

Source: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

“Still, intuitive assumptions about behavior is only the starting point of systematic analysis, for alone they do not yield many interesting implications.”

Stills Interesting Behavior Starting Analysis Assumption Yield Intuitive Implications Systematic Starting Point

Author:Gary Becker

“Why in almost all societies have married women specialized in bearing and rearing children and in certain agricultural activities, whereas married men have done most of the fighting and market work?”

Men Children Done Certain Fighting Marriage Activity Married Agriculture Married Man Married Women Rearing A Child

Author:Gary Becker

“I am saying that the economic approach provides a valuable unified framework for understanding all human behaviour”

Humans Understanding Economic Approach Economics Valuable Behaviour Framework Unified Human Behaviour

Book:The essence of Becker

Source: The essence of Becker

“Fines are preferable to imprisonment and other types of punishment because they are more efficient. With a fine, the punishment to offenders is also revenue to the State.”

States Philosophy Political Fine Type Economics Punishment Efficient Revenue Imprisonment Offenders

Author:Gary Becker

“I argued last year on my shared blog that selling the right to immigrate would be the best approach to legal immigration. Among other benefits, the revenue from immigrants' payments could reduce taxes. Paying for the right to immigrate would also negate the argument that immigrants get a free ride when they gain health care and other benefits. Moreover, making immigrants pay would attract the type of immigrants who came much earlier in American history: young men and women who are reasonably skilled and want to make a long-term commitment to the United States.”

“Economy is the art of making the most of life.”

Author:Gary Becker

“The most fundamental constraint is limited time”

Fundamentals Constraints Limited Time

Book:The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

Source: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

“Different constraints are decisive for different situations, but the most fundamental constraint is limited time.”

Different Situation Fundamentals Constraints Limited Time

Book:The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

Source: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

“Even a wizard would have a great deal of difficulty repealing the economic law that higher minimum wages reduce employment. Since politicians are not wizards, they should not try.”

Should Trying Law Deals Economic Higher Politician Difficulty Employment Minimum Wages Wizards Minimum Wage Repealing

Book:The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, How Real-World Issues Affect Our Everyday Life

Source: The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, How Real-World Issues Affect Our Everyday Life

“I was not sympathetic to the assumption that criminals had radically different motivations from everyone else.”

Different Motivation Criminals Assumption Sympathetic

Book:The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

Source: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

“Human capital analysis starts with the assumption that individuals decide on their education, training, medical care, and other additions to knowledge and health by weighing the benefits and costs. Benefits include cultural and other non-monetary gains along with improvement in earnings and occupations, while costs usually depend mainly on the foregone value of the time spent on these investments.”

Humans Care Values Individual Depends Cost Benefits Training Gains Investment Medical Improvement Analysis Assumption Occupation Healthcare Earning Monetary Time Spent Weighing Medical Care

Author:Gary Becker

“A stronger yuan could lead to greater Chinese asset accumulation in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

Greater Stronger Chinese Assets Elsewhere Accumulation

Author:Gary Becker

“My work on human capital began with an effort to calculate both private and social rates of return to men, women, blacks, and other groups from investments in different levels of education.”

Men Humans Different Social Levels Effort Groups Return Investment Rate Men Women Different Levels

Book:The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

Source: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture

“The Treatise tries to analyze not only modern Western families, but also those in other cultures and the changes in family structure during the past several centuries.”

Trying Past Culture Modern Century Structure Western Other Cultures

Author:Gary Becker

About the Author

Born: December 2, 1930
Died: May 3, 2014
Known for: Economist
Quotes: 15

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Books & Sources

The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel LectureRelated source material

The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, How Real-World Issues Affect Our Everyday LifeRelated source material

The essence of BeckerRelated source material

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