“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”

-Milton Friedman-

Milton Friedman (1912-2006) was an American economist and a leading figure in the field of monetarism, a school of economic thought that emphasizes the importance of money supply in determining economic growth and stability. Here is an overview of his early life, education, and economic contributions:

Early Life:

Milton Friedman was born on July 31, 1912, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine who had come to the United States in the early 1900s. Friedman attended public schools in Rahway, New Jersey, where he excelled academically. He went on to study at Rutgers University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics in 1932.

Education:

After completing his undergraduate degree, Friedman went to the University of Chicago to pursue graduate studies in economics. There he earned a master's degree in 1933 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1946. His Ph.D. dissertation, which was on income from independent professional practice, was published as a book titled "Income from Independent Professional Practice" in 1945.

Economic Contributions:

Friedman's contributions to economics are many and varied. He is perhaps best known for his work on monetarism, which argues that changes in the money supply have a direct and predictable effect on the economy. He believed that inflation was caused by too much money chasing too few goods, and that the government should therefore control the money supply to prevent inflation.

Friedman was also a proponent of free market economics and was critical of government intervention in the economy. He argued that the market was a more efficient allocator of resources than the government, and that government intervention often led to unintended consequences.

In addition to his work on monetarism and free market economics, Friedman made significant contributions to a variety of other areas of economics, including consumption theory, monetary history, and the role of government in education.

Friedman was a prolific writer and a popular public figure, known for his clear and accessible writing style and his ability to explain complex economic concepts in simple terms. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 for his contributions to economic theory and policy.

Milton Friedman, the famous economist, made numerous contributions to economic theory during his lifetime. Here are some of his most important theories:

1. Monetarism: Friedman was one of the main proponents of monetarism, a theory that holds that the money supply plays a crucial role in determining the level of economic activity in a country. He believed that the government should control the money supply in order to stabilize the economy and prevent inflation.
2. Permanent Income Hypothesis: This theory, first proposed by Friedman in 1957, argues that individuals' consumption patterns are determined not by their current income but by their expected lifetime income.
3. The Quantity Theory of Money: This theory, which is closely related to monetarism, holds that changes in the money supply have a direct and proportional effect on the level of prices in the economy.
4. The Phillips Curve: Friedman was critical of the Phillips Curve, a theory that suggests a trade-off between inflation and unemployment. He argued that there is no long-term trade-off between these two variables and that attempts to reduce unemployment through inflationary policies would ultimately lead to higher inflation without any long-term benefits in terms of employment.
5. School Vouchers: Friedman advocated for a system of school vouchers, which would give parents the ability to choose where their children go to school and would create competition between schools for students.
6. Negative Income Tax: Friedman proposed a negative income tax, which would provide a guaranteed income to all citizens below a certain income threshold. This system would replace many existing social welfare programs and would be funded through a flat tax on all income.
7. Economic Freedom: Friedman believed that economic freedom was essential to individual liberty and that government intervention in the economy should be minimized. He argued that free markets were the most efficient way to allocate resources and promote prosperity

Here's a list of books written by Milton Friedman:

1. Capitalism and Freedom
2. A Monetary History of the United States (co-authored with Anna Schwartz)
3. Free to Choose (co-authored with Rose Friedman)
4. Price Theory
5. The Theory of the Consumption Function
6. Essays in Positive Economics
7. Bright Promises, Dismal Performance: An Economist's Protest
8. The Optimum Quantity of Money and Other Essays
9. Money Mischief: Episodes in Monetary History
10. Tyranny of the Status Quo
11. Legal Framework for a Free Society
12. There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
13. Dollars and Deficits: Inflation, Monetary Policy and the Balance of Payments
14. Monetary Trends in the United States and the United Kingdom: Their Relation to Income, Prices, and Interest Rates, 1867–1975 (co-authored with Anna Schwartz)
15. I, Pencil: My Family Tree as told to Leonard E. Read (foreword by Milton Friedman)