It was there that Ronald Coase formulated his famous theorem on the problem of social cost (1960) and that Buchanan and Gordon Tullock wrote The Calculus of Consent in 1962.
In 1969, Buchanan, Tullock, and Charles J. Goetz established the Center for Study of Public Choice at Virginia Tech, which moved with them to George Mason University in 1983.
[2] The Virginia approach to political economy focuses on comparing private and public sector institutions as imperfect alternatives.
James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock were among the earliest economists to apply economic analysis to national constitutions; this is one of the greatest and longest-lasting contributions that The Calculus of Consent made in the field of public choice.
"[7] The Public Choice Society, a 501(c)(3) organization that facilitates research and discussion of the social sciences, is an outgrowth of the Virginia School.