Memoirs Unregulated

by George J. Stigler

Book Overview

An engaging and insightful autobiography of the Nobel Prize-winning economist best known for his contribution to regulatory economics and industrial organization.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465044425
• ISBN13: 9780465044429
• Release Date: May 1990
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Nobel Prize Winning Book

As a trained economist, I appreciated the insider's view of economic history that Stigler provides. His intimate recollection of the famous Chicago School of Economics, its professors, and ideas make this book well worth buying. An economic historian by trade and passion, Stigler has a knack for vividly recalling key events. He discusses his relationships with famous economists such as Friedman and Beck. He also provides detail of how certain ideas crept into the mainstream of economic theory. For example, Stigler warmly recalls the `eureka' moment when Ronald Coase convinced his colleagues at the Chicago School of the logic supporting the Coase Theorem. That alone makes this book well worth it.

A Witty Tour of The Chicago School

The dust jacket describes this book as "...at once the masterful intellectual autobiography of one of this century's most distinguished economists and a brilliant overview of the impact of economic ideas on policy since the mid-century." That description is right on target.Stigler provides everything in this short, accessible book. The reader is treated to a detailed explanation of the evolution of Stigler's thinking on a wide variety of topics. These chapters, such as Chapter 6 ("Monopoly") and Chapter 7 ("Political Regulation of Economic Life") also provide a very good intellectual history of how the generally accepted view of these topics has changed over time. Not coincidentally, these chapters together with Chapter 10 ("The Chicago School") document the tremendous amount of influence the Chicago School of economics has had over the economics profession. At a minimum, the book is worth the purchase price because of it's witty treatment of the "inside baseball" of academic life and frank description of the intellectual atmosphere at the University of Chicago. As an example, the letter exchange between Frank Knight and Paul Douglas reprinted beginning on page 183 should not be missed (no synopsis here can do it justice). Nor should the reader miss the description detailed in Chapter 5 ("Eureka") of how Ronald Coase, in one evening, turned the entire Chicago economics department from critics to supporters of what is now called the "Coase Theorem."

EASY TO READ, INTERESTING HISTORY OF RECENT ECONOMIC THOUGHT

Stigler won the Nobel Prize in 1982 for his work on antitrust and the role of information in the economy. He was one of the founders of the renowned Chicago School of economic thought, whose most famous member was Milton Friedman. Stigler traces the origins of the Chicago School in this easy to read, non academic memoir. He also tells a bit of personal history, but his main focus is on the analysis of thought evolution in economics. Overall, I thought this was a nice concise book. With only about 200 pages, the author surely measured his words. This is not a book about economics (though there is a little bit in it), but mainly a book on economic thought.

Fascinating, accessible style, humorous--a must read for all

Nobel prize-winning author George Stigler provides insight into the working of a great mind and the notorious "Chicago School" of economics. Worthwhile for its presentation of the human side of the "dismal science" as well as its clear explanation of basic concepts of Stigler's economic theory. Stigler holds nothing back and delivers a frank and modest account of his life and dealings with other prominent economists