James Heckman
James Heckman
James Joseph Heckmanis an American economist and Nobel laureate. He is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, Professor of Law at the Law School, and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago, a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth19 April 1944
CountryUnited States of America
James Heckman quotes about
For a variety of reasons, I have always felt myself an outsider. I don't know how to classify myself in economics. I am a loner. I do not like groupthink, which, if anything, has become more important in economics. In addition, a lot of the values I hold are not the mainstream values in the profession.
I went to a liberal arts college, and as part of my background, I was majoring in mathematics and physics.
You have kids growing up in some of the worst circumstances financially, living in some of the worst ghettos, and they succeed. They succeed because an adult figure, typically a mother, maybe a grandmother, nourishes the kid, supports the kid, protects the kid, encourages the kid to succeed. It's as if the environment never happened.
Early intervention programs enrich adverse family environments. The largest effects of the early intervention programs are on noncognitive traits. Now, what do I mean by that? I mean perseverance, motivation, self-esteem, and hard work.
There is a responsibility that goes with winning the Nobel Prize, and the responsibility is that if you have a forum, you should use it wisely.