Eric Maskin
Eric Maskin
Eric Stark Maskinis an American economist and 2007 Nobel laureate recognized with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory". He is the Adams University Professor at Harvard University. Until 2011, he was the Albert O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, and a visiting lecturer with the rank of professor at Princeton University...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth12 December 1950
CountryUnited States of America
Leo Hurwicz is the father of mechanism design theory and has inspired much of my work, and Roger Myerson is an old friend and collaborator and a tremendous economist.
A contingent bailout policy - implicit or explicit - must be coupled with some regulation of what banks can and cannot do. For example, a ban on lending to uncreditworthy customers might well make sense.
I choose questions to work on according to how much they excite me.
There are some things that we value as a public good that the markets can't deliver, like clean air.
There is universal consensus among experts that the earth's atmosphere is heating up - and that we are responsible for it by putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We also know that the consequences of global warming are catastrophic. But how do we make sure that all countries reduce greenhouse gases?
Many markets work best with little or no outside interference. But others - especially those subject to big 'externalities' - need a helping hand.
I like to work on a number of things simultaneously. If you're working on a variety of projects and if you get stuck on one of them, you can move to another without grinding your gears indefinitely.
A properly designed tax system can strike a balance between helping the poor and, at the same time, giving people the incentive to work.
Devising a mechanism is a lot like solving a puzzle - and gives you the same kind of kick.
Economic forecasting has actually got pretty good over the years, though admittedly, we don't always get it right.
I don't want to make public statements about issues that I have not studied in detail.
I entered economics because of a course I took on 'information economics,' which I found fascinating.
I probably learned most at MIT by teaching and working with Peter Diamond, who acted like a big brother to me during my time in the department.
I was born in New York City but grew up across the Hudson River in Alpine, New Jersey.