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Gary S. Becker

Nobel laureate in Economics; Professor of Economics and Sociology, University of Chicago.

Commentaries by Gary S. Becker

  • The Morality of Capital Punishment

    The US is often criticized for its refusal to abolish capital punishment. Many now claim that abolition of capital punishment is a precondit…

  • The Third Way is A Rightwing Way

    CHICAGO: "Only de Gaulle could free Algeria; only Nixon could open up China." Behind these slogans rests an notable principle: self-interest…

  • Grow Your Own Silicon Valley

    SAN FRANCISCO: The dot.com boom may have gone bust for the moment, but that is not stopping governments from wanting to encourage their own …

  • The Causes and Cures of Corruption

    CHICAGO: In recent years allegations about corrupt public officials have toppled or greatly weakened governments in many nations, and dimini…

  • The Unnatural Death of Natural Monopoly

    CHICAGO: The old concept in economics of "natural" monopoly refers to an industry where the technological advantages of large scale producti…

  • Europe's Tattered Social Contract

    CHICAGO: Europeans defend their highly regulated and taxed labor markets by claiming that they produce less inequality in earnings than the …

  • A European Disease

    CHICAGO: Many intellectuals in the United States and Eastern Europe believe that West European social welfare policies should be a blueprint…

  • Transforming Communist Economies

    The very different paths taken toward market economies by the ex-communist nations provides a remarkable laboratory on how to transform cent…

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