James M. Buchanan

1919–2013

Nationality: American

Historical Period: The 20th Century and Beyond

In 1986 James M. Buchanan (1919-) was awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Universally respected as one of the founders of the “public choice” school of economics, he is the author of numerous books and hundreds of articles in the areas of public finance, public choice, constitutional economics and economic philosophy. He is best known for such works as The Calculus of Consent, The Limits of Liberty, The Power to Tax, and The Reason of Rules. Buchanan has devoted himself to the study of the contractural and constitutional basis for the theory of economic and political decision making.

See the Liberty Matters online discussion of James Buchanan: An Assessment.

See also at our sister website Econlib:

• the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics entry on Buchanan

• Author: BOLL 10: James M. Buchanan, “The Threat of Leviathan” (1975)
• Author: The Collected Works of James M. Buchanan in 20 vols.
• Editor: L.S.E. Essays on Cost
• Author: The Legacy of Friedrich von Hayek, 7 vols.