Economics is a much better field now than when I entered it in the 50s. But nevertheless, there are lots of areas we just have very limited understanding on. There's still enormous countries versus over because the data are limited or analytical understanding are limited. And there are a lot of problems that will look easy now out there once people get a good understanding of what we're missing.
Russ Roberts interviews Gary Becker, of the University of Chicago, on the challenges of being an intellectual maverick, the economic approach to human behavior, the influences of Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall on Becker's work and Becker's optimism for the future of economics.