Vernon L. Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vernon L. Smith | |
 Vernon L. Smith
|
|
| Born | January 1, 1927 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Residence | U.S. |
| Nationality |  American |
| Fields | Economics |
| Institutions | Chapman University 2007- George Mason University 2001- University of Arizona 1976-01 Caltech 1973-75 CASBS 1972-73 Univ. of Massachusetts 1968-72 Brown University 1967-68 Purdue University 1955-67 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Ph.D, 1955 University of Kansas M.A., 1952 Caltech B.Sc., 1949 |
| Doctoral advisor | Wassily Leontief |
| Known for | Experimental economics Combinatorial auction |
| Notable awards |  Nobel Prize in Economics (2002) |
Vernon Lomax Smith (born January 1, 1927 in Wichita, Kansas) is professor of economics at Chapman University School of Law and School of Business in Orange, California, a research scholar at George Mason University Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, and a Fellow of the Mercatus Center, all in Arlington, Virginia. Smith shared the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with Daniel Kahneman. He is the founder and president of the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics and an Adjunct Scholar of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.
An alumnus of Wichita North High School and Friends University, Smith received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Caltech in 1949, an M.A. in economics from the University of Kansas in 1952, and his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1955; while at Harvard, Smith also took several courses taught at MIT, serving as a cross-registered MIT student[1].
Smith's first teaching post was at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, which he held from 1955 until 1967, attaining the rank of full professor. It was there that his work in experimental economics began. As Smith describes it:
"In the Autumn semester, 1955, I taught Principles of Economics, and found it a challenge to convey basic microeconomic theory to students. Why/how could any market approximate a competitive equilibrium? I resolved that on the first day of class the following semester, I would try running a market experiment that would give the students an opportunity to experience an actual market, and me the opportunity to observe one in which I knew, but they did not know what were the alleged driving conditions of supply and demand in that market."[1]
Smith also taught as a visiting associate professor at Stanford University (1961-1962) and there made contact with Sidney Siegel, who was also doing work in experimental economics. Smith moved with his family to Massachusetts and got a position first at Brown University (1967-1968), then at the University of Massachusetts (1968-1972). Smith also received appointments at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1972-1973) and Caltech (1973-1975). He moved on to the University of Arizona from 1976 until 2002, where he conducted research that later would earn him a Nobel Prize. He has authored or co-authored over 200 articles and books on capital theory, finance, natural resource economics and experimental economics.
Smith was also one of the first to propose combinatorial auction, with Stephen J. Rassenti and Robert L. Bulfin in 1982.
Smith serves or has served on the board of editors of the American Economic Review, The Cato Journal, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Science, Economic Theory, Economic Design, Games and Economic Behavior, and the Journal of Economic Methodology. He also served as an expert for the Copenhagen Consensus.
Smith's papers have been published by Cambridge University Press: Papers in Experimental Economics (1991) and Bargaining and Market Behavior: Essays in Experimental Economics (2000).
In February 2005 Smith spoke out publicly about his Asperger's syndrome, which is part of the autistic spectrum.[2]
Contents |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Vernon L. Smith - Autobiography. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
- ^ Herera, Sue (25 February 2005). Mildest autism has 'selective advantages'. MSNBC. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
[edit] References
- Rassenti, Stephen J., Vernon L. Smith, and Robert L. Bulfin (1982), "A Combinatorial Auction Mechanism for Airport Time Slot Allocation," Bell Journal of Economics, 13, 402-417.
[edit] External links
- Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science (ICES)
- GMU bio
- Smith's autobiography
- Vernon L Smith's Personal Website
- Spring 2003 interview with Vernon Smith
- Reflections On Human Action After 50 Years by Vernon L. Smith
- "Using Experiments to Inform the Privatization/Deregulation Movement in Electricity," by Stephen J.Rassenti,Vernon L.Smith, and Bart J.Wilson
- Vernon Smith on Markets and Experimental Economics. EconTalk podcast interview with Vernon Smith, May 2007
|
||||||||
