In this collection of autobiographical essays, 26 prominent scholars detail their professional development, while offering insight into their lives and philosophies. With candor and humor they relate how they came to the field of economics, as well as how their views have evolved over the years.

The institution of marriage has served to funnel economic resources from fathers to children. Its continued decline in the countries of the developed world threatens the adequacy of the economic support of human reproduction, now increasingly provided by women. Its decline is also probably...

Indexes of the occupational standing of Negroes relative to whites in 1966 are presented for 45 metropolitan areas and 67 industries. The most important factor in explaining differences in the indexes among areas was the citizens' attitudes towards equality for Negroes, for which we used the...

By the criterion most beloved by the economics profession, economists have not failed; on the contrary, we are a glorious success. The criterion I am referring to is, of course, that of success in the marketplace. The marketplace continues to value our output highly. The profession is growing at a...