Chicago school of economics
Pasour was born and raised on a farm in Gaston County, North Carolina. He graduated with a degree in agricultural education from North Carolina State College in 1954, and served in the United States Army for two years. He obtained a master's degree specializing in agricultural economics from N.C. State University. There, he was influenced by the Chicago school of economics, which confirmed his criticisms of government intervention in agriculture. He then enrolled in a PhD program at Michigan State University, where the influence of the Chicago school of economics was much less pronounced. He obtained his PhD in agricultural economics in 1963.