from Columbia University in 1973, both in economics. From 1973 to 1981, he taught at the University of Chicago, where he was promoted to full professor in 1979. In 1981 he joined the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he is currently a professor emeritus.
His research has spanned a wide range of topics in the social sciences, including economic history, economics of national income determination, environmental economics, and development economics. His research has been published in leading academic journals and has received numerous awards, including the John Bates Clark Medal (1981), the National Science Foundation's Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching (1986), the American Economic Association's William R. Nelson Prize Paper Award (1988), and an honorary doctorate degree from Cambridge University (1993).
He is currently research director for the NBER's Education Resources Information Center (ERIC).