James M. Buchanan

Senior Fellow honoraire

Honorary Senior Fellow

James M. Buchanan a gagné le Nobel d’économie en 1986. On le connaît surtout à sa « théorie des choix publics », qui a transformé l’analyse des décisions économiques et politiques. Ses travaux ont mis en lumière l’influence des intérêts propres des politiciens et des forces non économiques sur les politiques économiques des gouvernements. Le professeur Buchanan a fait ses études de premier cycle au Middle Tennessee State College, en 1940, puis sa maîtrise ès sciences à l’Université du Tennessee en 1941. Après avoir obtenu son doctorat de l’Université de Chicago, en 1948, il a enseigné à l’Université de Virginie, à l’UCLA et à l’Institut polytechnique de Virginie. Parmi ses nombreux ouvrages influents, on compte The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy (1962), avec Gordon Tullock; Cost and Choice (1969); The Limits of Liberty (1975), Liberty, Market, and State (1985) de même que son autobiographie Better than Plowing and Other Personal Essays (1992).

James M. Buchanan won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Science. He is best known for developing the "public choice theory" of economics, which changed the way economists analyze economic and political decision making. Professor Buchanan's work opened the door for the examination of how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy. Professor Buchanan got his start with a B.A. from Middle Tennessee State College in 1940, followed by a M.S. from the University of Tennessee in 1941. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in 1948, he held teaching positions at the University of Virginia, UCLA, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Among the many influential books he has written are The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy (1962) with Gordon Tullock; Cost and Choice (1969); The Limits of Liberty (1975); Liberty, Market, and State (1985); and his autobiography, Better than Plowing and Other Personal Essays (1992).