Admission is free and open to the public.
Becker is widely recognized as possessing one of the most original minds in modern social science, extending the boundaries of economics to aspects of human behavior which were formerly the concern of sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists. His research is founded on the idea that the behavior of an individual adheres to the same fundamental principles in several different areas. Thus individual agents, regardless if they are households, firms, or other organizations, are assumed to behave rationally, i.e., purposefully. Becker applied this principal to areas where researchers formerly assumed that behavior was habitual and often downright irrational. His current research focuses on habits and addictions, formation of preferences, human capital, and population growth.