- 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics
Intro
American economist and the Adams and Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard University. He was awarded along with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory."
Education and Work Experience
1976, Ph.D., in Applied Mathematics, Harvard University
1985-2000, Professor of Economics, Harvard University
2000-2011, Albert O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
2012-Present, Adams University Professor, Harvard University
Honors and Awards
1994, Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2003, President of the Econometric Society
2007 Nobel Prize in Economics
2008, Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Major Academic Achievements
Maskin’s most prominent contribution is the introduction of game theory into the design of mechanisms. Before him, the most important scholar of mechanism design was Leo Hurwicz. The mechanism design was only considered from the perspective of the central planner. Maskin believes that a central planner is not needed. As a master economist in the field of game theory, Dr. Maskin represents the metaphysical value orientation of economic theory. In 1977, Maskin completed the paper "Nash Equilibrium and Welfare Optimization", although after 22 years. It was officially published (1999 Economic Research Review) and became a milestone in the theory of mechanism design. In this paper. Maskin proposed and proved the sufficient and necessary conditions for the implementation of Nash equilibrium. The countermeasures he constructed when he proved sufficient conditions were called “Maskin's countermeasures” and were widely circulated.