james m buchanan jr was an american economist who earned the nobel prize in economics in 1986 for his contribution to public choice theory which uses economics to analyze the behavior of voters and public officials 
he is the author of several books including what should economists do the limits of liberty and the calculus of consent with gordon tullock james m buchanan jr died on jan 9 2013 investopedia julie bangearly life and educationjames m buchanan jr was born oct 3 1919 in murfreesboro tenn he earned a bachelor s degree at middle tennessee state college in 1940 and a ph d from the university of chicago in 1948 from 1956 to 1968 buchanan served as a professor at the university of virginia where he founded the thomas jefferson center for studies in political economy he taught at ucla and virginia tech from 1968 to 1983 before moving to george mason university where he retired with emeritus status 1public choice theoryin 1962 along with fellow economist gordon tullock james m buchanan jr wrote the calculus of consent which presents the basic principles of public choice theory the book is regarded as a reference to the discipline of public choice in political science and economics 1the public choice theory applies economics to political decision making and defies the conventional beliefs that politicians act in the best interest of their constituents it evaluates how incentives and personal gain shape politicians choices buchanan s insights into human nature and political outcomes provide an understanding of the perks that motivate political actors and allow for more accurate predictions of political decisions 2in 1986 buchanan was awarded the nobel prize in economics for his development of the contractual and constitutional bases for the theory of economic and political decision making 3the center for public choice at george mason university builds on the groundbreaking economic and political science theories for which buchanan was awarded the nobel prize as a research program public choice extends the tools of economics to analyze the behavior of voters candidates legislators bureaucrats and judges created in 1957 at the university of virginia the center was initially called the thomas jefferson center for studies in political economy in 1969 the center moved to virginia tech and in 1983 to george mason university where it operates today 4