Twenty-six Essays In This Volume Showcase The Brilliant Originality And Range Of Economic Thought That Earned Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Gary S. Becker The Nobel Prize In 1992 And Corroborate His Reputation As The Leading Figure In Unconventional Economics. This, The First Published Collection Of Becker's Papers, Presents An Overview Of The Fundamental Theories And Unorthodox Applications That Inspired Milton Friedman To Call Becker One Of The Most Creative Economists Of Our Generation. Becker's Significant Contributions Evolve From An Economic Approach To Analyzing Social Issues That Ranges Beyond Those Usually Considered By Economists. By Questioning Assumptions Taken For Granted In Most Economic Modeling, Becker Sheds New Light On Previously Unconnected And Poorly Understood Social Phenomena. Becker's Findings Not Only Shift Huge Problems That Other Social Scientists Once Considered Immovable But Also Stand Up To Empirical Challenge. His Singular Axiom - That All Actors In The Social Game Are Economic Persons Who Maximize Their Advantages In Different Cost Situations - Allows Becker To Study Persistent Racial And Sexual Discrimination, Investment In Human Capital, Crime And Punishment, Marriage And Divorce, The Family, Drug Addiction, And Other Apparently Noneconomic Dimensions Of Society. The Essays Presented Here Capture Becker's Innovative Analyses Of These Topics And Include The Text Of His Nobel Lecture, A Personal Assessment Of His Contributions To The Profession. The Economic Approach To Human Behavior -- Irrational Behavior And Economic Theory -- Investment In Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis -- A Theory Of The Allocation Of Time -- Market Insurance, Self-insurance, And Self-protection -- A Theory Of Social Interactions -- Degustibus Non Est Disputandum -- A Note On Restaurant Pricing And Other Examples Of Social Influences On Price -- Habits, Addictions, And Traditions -- An Economic Analysis Of Fertility -- A Theory Of Marriage: Part I -- A Theory Of Marriage: Part Ii -- Altruism, Egoism, And Genetic Fitness: Economics And Sociobiology -- Human Capital And The Rise And Fall Of Families -- The Family And The State -- The Forces Determining Discrimination In The Marketplace -- Effective Discrimination -- Human Capital, Effort, And The Sexual Division Of Labor -- Crime And Punishment: An Economic Approach -- Law Enforcement, Malfeasance, And Compensation Of Enforcers -- Competition And Democracy -- Public Policies, Pressure Groups, And Deadweight Costs -- The Classical Monetary Theory: The Outcome Of The Discussion -- Family Economics And Macrobehavior -- The Division Of Labor, Coordination Costs, And Knowledge -- Nobel Lecture: The Economic Way Of Looking At Behavior Edited And With An Introduction By Ramón Febrero And Pedro S. Schwartz ; Foreword By John Raisian. A Collection Of Becker's Principal Articles Published To Celebrate His 1992 Nobel Prize And His 65th Birthday. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

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