Becker’s stepson, Mike Claffey, said Becker died on Saturday at Northwestern Hospital from complications after an extended illness.

Becker was cited for breaking ground by applying economic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interactions.

At the time he became a Nobel Laureate, Becker said he felt “economics had the tools” to handle social questions.

University of Chicago President Robert Zimmerman said Becker will be remembered as one of the foremost economic scholars of the 20th century.