One of the most deeply philosophical of the development economists.  On top of everything else, his work on environmental sustainability was well ahead of its time.

Amazing how many economics citations a political scientist was able to run up, and then a Nobel Prize on top.  "Small groups can produce local public goods" is a remarkably powerful insight.

She still has an excellent chance for a Nobel Prize.  She is the preeminent thinker on measuring the costs of rent-seeking, plus her work on trade and growth continues to resonate.

Forget the recent political disputes, he's done more to shape thinking on economic development than many people realize.  I've tried to craft a brief overview of some of the reasons why he won a Nobel Prize at such a relatively young age.

Economists should know more classic sociology, and this is one good place to start.  The relevance of his insights into poverty has held up very well and it meshes with recent "behavioral" approaches from economists.  He is also a key writer on issues...

One of the great common sense economists, and yet the world often has rejected the common sense he has supplied.  His insights are fundamental.

He is still one of the most influential critics of the capitalist market economy, tying together economics, history, and political science.  Read him to understand why the 19th century went away.

Despite his vintage, the next generation of development economists will be mining him for a lot of fresh insights.  He would have loved the fact that much of Africa moved straight to cell phones.

One of the deepest and most broadly read economists, ever.  A splendid horseman too.

The first modern development economist and in many ways still the best.  For that matter he is probably the best and most important economist ever.  Still.