Praise from other economists regarding the contributions of Daniel McFadden

"Dan McFadden has revolutionized our understanding of how people and governments make choices when confronted with discrete alternatives such as whether to ride BART rather than drive or where to build a highway. He has pioneered both the theory of how such choices are made and the statistical techniques for making inferences from available data. And he has applied the techniques he has developed to many problems. At the same time that he has worked intensely on these subjects, he has remained a wonderful friend, colleague, and person."

-- Peter Diamond, Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Daniel McFadden's Nobel Prize recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement in econometrics and will be welcomed by economists around the world. McFadden introduced a new, psychological, dimension to econometric modeling with his methods for analyzing qualitative responses. His perspective has had important practical ramifications in designing transportation systems, understanding the choices that individuals make among occupations, and modeling purchases of durable goods and choice among brands."

-- Dale W. Jorgenson, Frederic Eaton Abbe Professor of Economics, Harvard University

"Among many other contributions, Dan McFadden has advanced remarkably our understanding of how households and firms choose among discrete alternatives (such as participating in the labor force or not participating; or, for a firm, introducing a new product line or not doing so). Not only did he develop theoretical methods for understanding such "discrete" decisions, he invented the basic econometric paradigm for analyzing actual microeconomic data on economic agents' discrete choices. As more large sets of data on individuals have become available, and as the computing power to analyze these has exploded, McFadden's pioneering methods have become increasingly important. His work forms the foundation for a range of studies on key public policy questions, for example, taxation, welfare reform, and public transit."

-- Maurice Obstfeld, Class of 1958 Professor of Economics & Chair, Department of Economics, College of Letters & Science, University of California, Berkeley

"The econometric analysis of discrete choice developed by Dan McFadden in the 1970s fundamentally changed the way empirical economists study individual behavior. The methods he developed are now used routinely to study behaviors as diverse as travel demand, migration, the demand for consumer durables, college-going behavior, occupational choice, and housing location. Dan's influence on the profession has been felt not only through his own research contributions, but also through the enormous effort he has made to nurture young researchers. He has profoundly influenced my own career and that of many others. For these reasons, and also because Dan has a modesty that is rather uncommon among economists, we should all be enormously pleased that the Nobel Committee has recognized his achievements."

-- Charles F. Manski, Professor of Economics and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University

"He's been one of my heroes all of my professional life and I don't think it (the Nobel Prize in Economics) could have gone to anyone better."

-- Angus Deaton, a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton, and a fellow of the Econometric Society