| Born | March 29, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Nationality | United States |
| Institution | University of Chicago Northwestern University |
| Field | Game theory |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Influences | Kenneth Arrow |
| Contributions | Mechanism design |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2007) |
| Information at IDEAS/RePEc | |
Roger Bruce Myerson (born March 29, 1951) is an American economist and Nobel laureate recognized with Leonid Hurwicz and Eric Maskin for "having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory."[1] A professor at the University of Chicago, he has made contributions as an economist, as an applied mathematician, and as a political scientist.
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Roger Myerson was born on March 29, 1951 in Boston to a Jewish family. He attended Harvard University, where he received his A.B., summa cum laude, and S.M. in applied mathematics in 1973. He completed his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1976. His doctorate thesis was A Theory of Cooperative Games.[2]
From 1976 to 2001, Myerson was a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he conducted much of his Nobel-winning research.[3] From 1978 to 1979, he was Visiting Researcher at Bielefeld University. He was Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago from 1985–86 and from 2000–01. He became Professor of Economics at Chicago in 2001. Currently, he is the Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago.[2]
Myerson was one of the three winners of the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the other two being Leonid Hurwicz of the University of Minnesota, and Eric Maskin of the Institute for Advanced Study. He was awarded the prize for his contributions to mechanism design theory.[4]
Myerson made a path-breaking contribution to mechanism design theory when he discovered a fundamental connection between the allocation to be implemented and the monetary transfers needed to induce informed agents to reveal their information truthfully. Mechanism design theory allows for people to distinguish situations in which markets work well from those in which they do not. The theory has helped economists identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes, and voting procedures. Today, the theory plays a central role in many areas of economics and parts of political science.[4]
In 1980 Myerson married Gina Weber and the couple had two children, Daniel and Rebecca.[5]
He wrote a general textbook on game theory in 1991, and has also written on the history of game theory, including his review of the origins and significance of noncooperative game theory.[6] He also served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Game Theory for ten years.
Myerson has worked on economic analysis of political institutions and written several major survey papers:
His recent work on democratization has raised critical questions about American policy in occupied Iraq.[7]
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