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Sowell: Gary Becker (1930-2014)
Creators Syndicate ^ | May 5, 2014 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 05/05/2014 2:56:25 PM PDT by jazusamo

Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker was internationally renowned within the economics profession, but was not nearly as well known among the general public as he deserved to be. More important, his path-breaking ideas, including his analysis of the economics of racial discrimination, deserved to be much more a part of the many discussions of that subject.

More than half a century after Professor Becker's landmark work on the economics of discrimination, most controversies on that subject, both in the media and in politics, go on in utter ignorance of his penetrating insights. So do laws and policies that make discrimination worse.

As someone who has written about racial discrimination within the framework of analysis that Becker created, I am especially indebted to him, and wish only that more people were aware of that framework, which could spare us much rhetoric and offer some useful understanding instead.

At a time when there are so many occasions to lament that Milton Friedman is no longer with us, when his knowledge and wisdom are needed more than ever, now we must also lament that the same is true of Gary Becker.

While Becker was an economist's economist, he also transcended the traditional boundaries of economics. He applied the kind of analysis that economists use to subjects that most economists do not usually deal with.

Racial discrimination was just one of those subjects — at least before Becker came along. He also analyzed family decisions within an intellectual framework ordinarily used for analyzing economic issues, though that did not mean that he thought families were all about money.

(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: becker; economist; nobelprize; racialdiscrimination; sowell; thomassowell

1 posted on 05/05/2014 2:56:25 PM PDT by jazusamo
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To: abigail2; Amalie; American Quilter; arthurus; awelliott; Bahbah; bamahead; Battle Axe; ...
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2 posted on 05/05/2014 2:57:52 PM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo

Marked for later reading - looks like an interesting man.


3 posted on 05/05/2014 3:00:23 PM PDT by OldNewYork
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To: jazusamo

Shirley not the Gary Becker from A.N.S.W.E.R.


4 posted on 05/05/2014 3:45:00 PM PDT by upchuck (Support ABLE, the Anybody But Lindsey Effort. Yes, we are the ABLE!!)
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To: upchuck

I seriously doubt it, are you thinking of Brian Becker?


5 posted on 05/05/2014 3:50:33 PM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo
though that did not mean that he thought families were all about money.

Only non-economists think economics is about money. Most economists recognize that economics is about incentives and people's response to them. Both Becker and Sowell do recognize this.

6 posted on 05/05/2014 3:54:16 PM PDT by JoeFromSidney (Book: Resistance to Tyranny. Buy from Amazon.)
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To: JoeFromSidney
Yep. Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions is precisely such a book.
7 posted on 05/05/2014 3:55:59 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: jazusamo

Bttt


8 posted on 05/05/2014 3:57:11 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s ((If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there)
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To: JoeFromSidney

Good point and so true.


9 posted on 05/05/2014 4:02:09 PM PDT by jazusamo
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Please bump the Freepathon or click above and donate or become a monthly donor!

10 posted on 05/05/2014 5:21:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo
it is better to do it sooner rather than later

As we say in the Midwest, keep your fences mended.

11 posted on 05/05/2014 5:52:15 PM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.)
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To: jazusamo

Yeah, Brian Becker. Sorry, my mistake. My apologies to Gary Becker.


12 posted on 05/05/2014 6:32:34 PM PDT by upchuck (Support ABLE, the Anybody But Lindsey Effort. Yes, we are the ABLE!!)
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To: jazusamo

Read quite a bit of Gary Becker’s economy of crime. An original thinker, IMHO


13 posted on 05/05/2014 6:45:21 PM PDT by KosmicKitty (WARNING: Hormonally crazed woman ahead!!)
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To: KosmicKitty

Becker shows we are all fallible under the right conditions (constraints).
An eternal struggle.
That’s why I like Econ.
:)


14 posted on 05/09/2014 7:24:59 PM PDT by 4Liberty (Optimal institutions - optimal economy.)
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