George Stigler Professions : Economist Born : January 17, 1911 Died : December 1, 1991 Browse All Authors Top 32 quotes by George Stigler ...it is distressing how often one can guess the answer given to an economic question merely by knowing who asks it. George Stigler economics knowing answers Theories are not rejected by cirsumstantial evidence: it takes a theory to beat a theory. George Stigler rejected beats theory Competition is a tough weed, not a delicate flower. George Stigler competition weed flower Why, when the economist gives advice to his society, is he so often cooly ignored? He never ceases to preach free trade, and protectionism is growing in the United States. He deplores the perverse effects of minimum wage laws, and the legal minimum is regularly raised each 3 or 5 years. He brands usury laws as a medieval superstition, but no state hurries to repeal its law. George Stigler law philosophy years If you never miss a plane, you’re spending too much time at the airport. George Stigler airports too-much missing Friedman stumbled in, late to the seminar as usual and reeking of cigar smoke and whiskey. He hadn't read the paper being presented, and halfway through he just gets up, walks up to the podium, socks the mother****er right in the face and takes a piss all over his lecture notes. George Stigler lectures mother faces There is only one social science and we are its practitioners George Stigler social-science social The Chicago Economics Department was in intellectual ferment, although the central issues of the 1930s were very different from those in later times. I had never before encountered minds of that quality at close quarters and they influenced me strongly. George Stigler issues intellectual mind I recall my mother asking in about 1946 what I was and I replied proudly that I was a professor. A decade later she repeated her question and I repeated my answer. "No promotion?" was her comment. George Stigler asking mother answers A Swedish physicist can not discuss his work with fifty people unless he goes abroad. A Swedish economist can get opinions and instructions in his native language from thousands upon thousands of his fellow citizens. George Stigler native-language citizens people Adam Smith had one overwhelmingly important triumph: he put into the center of economics the systematic analysis of the behavior of individuals pursuing their self-interest under conditions of competition. George Stigler competition important self All great economists are tall. There are two exceptions: John Kenneth Galbraith and Milton Friedman. George Stigler milton economist two The main insight learned from interdisciplinary studies is the return to specialization George Stigler return insight study Mathematics has no symbols for confused ideas. George Stigler confused science ideas ...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category. George Stigler levels numbers men My interests were aroused, and my faith in the cliches of the subject destroyed, as so often with other subjects, by the discussions with my friend, Aaron Director. George Stigler fierce faith directors Stigler's Law: No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. George Stigler scientific-discovery law discovery In 1958, I came to Chicago where I have remained. George Stigler chicago Even before I came to Chicago, I had gotten interested in the existence of dispersion of prices under conditions which economic theory said would yield a single price. George Stigler economic yield chicago It was in the 1960s that I began the detailed study of public regulation. George Stigler 1960s regulation study Similar Authors Bryan Caplan economist Burton Malkiel economist Bruno Frey economist Brian Wesbury economist Branko Milanovic economist Andrew Samwick economist All Authors
