Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Honoring Gordon Tullock



Friday night, the GMU's Law School and Econ department had a nice reception in Arlington for Gordon Tullock's retirement at age 86. The President of GMU, the Dean of the Law School and the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Chairman of the Economics Department all gave short speeches honoring him. For those who don't aren't familiar with his work, Gordon Tullock is one of the pioneers in Public Choice and one of the most influential economists of his generation. (Publishing 24 books and over 150 articles.) He's been a prominent contender for the Nobel Prize in Economics on numerous occasions. (Despite having only taken one economics course in his entire life.)

Tullock is also famous around GMU for his propensity for hurling insults at whoever might be in his general proximity. Someone once told me that's an indication he likes you. I remember walking away feeling elated the first time he insulted me. (With many more to follow.)

Here is Tullock's home page, a brief biography, and a Wikipedia entry on him. Here are all my blog posts where I mention him.

Tullock is retiring in Tuscon, Arizona where his sister lives. I feel honored to have known him and will miss my frequent run-in with him on the Metro and around campus. He will be deeply missed by many.

2 comments:

jeremy h. said...

I like that Adam is drinking a beer in the background.

thinking said...

Fascinating how he has only taken one econ course in his entire life.