Come l'economia guarda alla vita

The Economic Way of Looking at Life

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

This essay is a slightly revised version of the Nobel Lecture in Economic Sciences delivered by the author on December 9, 1992 in Stockholm, Sweden. Becker's research uses the economic approach, or rational choice approach, to analyse social issues that range beyond those usually considered by economists. This essay describes the approach, and illustrates it with examples drawn from past and current work by the author, referred to four different subjects. To understand discrimination against minorities, it is necessary to widen preferences to accommodate prejudice and hatred of particular groups. The economic analysis of crime incorporates into rational behaviour illegal and other antisocial actions. The human capital perspective considers how the productivity of people in market and non-market situations is changed by investments in education, skills, and knowledge. The economic approach to the family interprets marriage, divorce, fertility and relations among family members through the lens of utility-maximizing, forward-looking behaviour.