James M. Buchanan

James M. Buchanan

James McGill Buchanan, Jr. (/bjuːˈkænɨn/; born October 3, 1919) is an American economist known for his work on public choice theory, for which he received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Buchanan's work initiated research on how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government economic policy. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute and professor at George Mason University.