Becker, Gary S(tanley)

(born Dec. 2, 1930, Pottsville, Pa., U.S.) U.S. economist. He studied at Princeton University and the University of Chicago. As a professor at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, he applied the methods of economics to aspects of human behaviour previously considered the domain of sociology and demography. In Human Capital (1964) and A Treatise on the Family (1981), he advanced the theory that rational economic choices, based on self-interest, govern most human activities, even apparently noneconomic activities such as the formation of families. He won the Nobel Prize in 1992.

Find more information on Becker, Gary S(tanley). Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Becker, Gary S(tanley).