Alfred William "Bob" Coats (3 September 1924, Southall, West London, England – 9 April 2007, Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex, England) was a British economist, economic historian and historian of economic thought.
He made important contributions to the study of the history, methodology, sociology, professionalisation and internationalisation of economics, and was for many decades a central figure in professional societies in these specialised fields.
His studies were interrupted by war service (in the RAF and as an intelligence officer in Palestine) for three and a half years who has covered a broad range of topics over his long career.
He initially undertook a study into the work of John Bates Clark, but soon broadened the subject, resulting in his thesis "Methodological Controversy as an Approach to the History of American Economic Thought, 1885 - 1930" that he completed in 1953.
In this area, he edited a number of important collections of articles, mostly written by "insiders".