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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.