Economist James M. Buchanan, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economic Science, 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.

Buchanan is the Honorary President of the Tampere Club.

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); and Liberty, Market, and State (1985); and his autobiography, Better than Plowing and Other Personal Essays (1992).

Homepage:
http://www.gmu.edu/jbc/faculty_bios/buchananbio.html