Gary Becker, economist and winner of Nobel Prize passed away

May 6, 2014

Screenshot_1 Gary Becker (83), a professor in University of Chicago who was conferred the Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 1992, passed away. He is credited for his path-breaking approach to economics as the study of human behavior. Becker applied his economic analysis to a wide array of human behavior and interactions. He also studied issues such as marriage and divorce, crime and punishment, addiction and household decisions.
Before 1950s, most experts considered habit and often emotion or irrationality as the main factors in human behavior such as having children or committing crimes. It was Becker who theorized that human behavior follows the same rational principles, whether it involves a household, a business or an organization. Although initially his views were received skeptically, his work influenced sociology, demography and criminology.