James McGill Buchanan, who received an M.A. in economics from the University of Tennessee in 1941, was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1986 for his work in public choice theory, a field of study which he explored in twelve books and numerous articles. Buchanan received his B.S. degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1940 and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1948. He served on the faculty of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, from 1948 to 1951 and headed the Departments of Economics at Florida State University and the University of Virginia. From 1969 to 1983, he directed the Center for the Study of Public Choice at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and since 1983, he has headed a similar research center at George Mason University.

Buchanan has also been the recipient of the Seidman Award of the American Economic Association (1984), is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a past president of the Southern Economic Association and the Western Economic Association. He holds honorary doctorates from seven universities.