George Stigler

George Joseph Stigler (January 17, 1911 – December 1, 1991) was a U.S. economist. He won the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1982.

Stigler is best known for developing the Economic Theory of Regulation, also known as capture, which says that interest groups and other political participants will use the regulatory and coercive powers of government to shape laws and regulations in a way that is beneficial to them. This theory is an important component of the Public Choice field of economics. He also carried out extensive research in the field of History of economic thought

Stigler was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended the University of Washington, Northwestern University, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1938.

See also

• Stephen Stigler, his son
• his seminal studies of industrial structures, functioning of markets and causes and effects of public regulation.
• Stigler's conjecture