Professor Eric S. Maskin, Nobel Laureate
Eric S. Maskin, Ph.D., FAAAS, Nobel Laureate is the Adams University Professor, Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard University, and the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the International Economics Olympiad with over four decades of experience in economic theory and mechanism design.
He is a Nobel Laureate who was jointly awarded the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson “for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory.” Eric is widely recognized for transforming the field of economics through his pioneering work in implementation theory, game theory, contract theory, and social choice theory.
As Adams University Professor at Harvard since 2011, Eric continues to advance economic theory while teaching both economics and mathematics. His recent research focuses on electoral reform, inequality, and the formation of coalitions.
In 2024, he coauthored How to Depolarize American Politics with Edward B. Foley and has been advocating for their proposed Total Vote Runoff system as an improvement to ranked-choice voting. Eric was among 16 Nobel laureates who signed an open letter in June 2024 warning about the economic implications of specific fiscal and trade policies.
He recently appeared in an exclusive video interview at the International Congress of Basic Science in Beijing in July 2024, discussing how mechanism design theory reconciles individual goals with societal aims. Read The 2024 International Congress of Basic Science opens in Beijing, Borda’s Rule and Arrow’s Independence Condition, and Some candidates for reforming elections.
Eric’s groundbreaking contributions to mechanism design theory have revolutionized how economists understand the design of institutions and markets. His work on implementation theory addresses how to structure rules and incentives to achieve desired social outcomes even when individuals have private information and conflicting interests.
With Jean Tirole, he advanced the concept of Markov perfect equilibrium, fundamentally changing the understanding of dynamic games. His recent publications include Mechanism Design for Pandemics, which addresses economic responses to global health crises, and collaborative work on the economics of malaria control. He has authored over 400 research publications throughout his career. Watch Mechanism Design: How to Implement Social Goals.
Eric earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University in 1976, where he studied under Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow. His dissertation work laid early foundations for his later contributions to economic theory. He earned his Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics in 1974 and his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 1972, both from Harvard. From 1975 to 1976, he was a visiting student at Darwin College, Cambridge University, and after completing his doctorate, became a research fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.
Eric’s distinguished academic career began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he served as a faculty member from 1977 to 1984. He returned to Harvard in 1985 as the Louis Berkman Professor of Economics, a position he held until 2000.
During his first tenure at Harvard, he helped build one of the world’s leading groups in economic theory, alongside colleagues including Andreu Mas-Colell, Jerry Green, and Drew Fudenberg. From 2000 to 2011, he served as the Albert O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where he became the fifth faculty member in the institution’s history to receive a Nobel Prize. He continues to direct the Jerusalem Summer School in Economic Theory at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Throughout his career, Eric has held numerous prestigious appointments and advisory roles. He served as President of the Econometric Society in 2003 and has been a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy since his election. In September 2017, he received the title of HEC Paris Honoris Causa Professor. He served on the Social Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize in 2018 and has been Chairman of the Advisory Board of the International Economics Olympiad. From 2014, he held a visiting professorship at Covenant University in Nigeria. During the 1990s, he also advised the Bank of Italy on bond auction operations.
Eric’s honors and recognition extend beyond the Nobel Prize. In 2010, he received an honorary doctoral degree in economics from The University of Cambodia. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, and the European Economic Association. His intellectual contributions have been recognized through numerous keynote addresses, including his 2024 speech on Why globalization has failed to reduce inequality at King Prajadhipok’s Institute in Bangkok. Listen to Eric Maskin on Hayek and Mechanism Design.
A notable aspect of Eric’s work involves his critique of software patents, arguing that they inhibit rather than stimulate innovation. His research with James Bessen demonstrated that industries like software and semiconductors have thrived despite historically weak patent protection, suggesting that in sequential and complementary innovation environments, excessive patent protection may reduce overall innovation and social welfare.
His collaborative work on voting systems with Ned Foley proposes Baldwin’s voting method, known as Total Vote Runoff, to address shortcomings in instant-runoff voting systems. Read Sequential innovation, patents, and imitation and Alaska’s ranked-choice voting is flawed. But there’s an easy fix.
Eric edited Recent Developments in Game Theory (International Library of Critical Writings in Economics). and coedited Planning, Shortage, and Transformation: Essays in Honor of János Kornai and Economic Analysis of Markets and Games: Essays in Honor of Frank Hahn. He authored Recent Theoretical Work on the Soft Budget Constraint, and coauthored On the Fundamental Theorems of General Equilibrium. Auction Theory with Private Values. The Efficient Market Hypothesis and Insider Trading on the Stock Market. and Repeated Games with Long-Run and Short-Run Players. Read the full list of his publications!
Born on December 12, 1950, in New York City into a Jewish family, Eric spent his youth in Alpine, New Jersey. He graduated from Tenafly High School in 1968, where his calculus teacher, Francis Piersa, sparked his passion for mathematics. His mother was a concert pianist and his father, originally an amateur violinist, became a medical doctor. Eric began playing piano as a child before switching to clarinet, which he continues to play, including a 2006 performance at the Institute for Advanced Study. Read On Music and Economics: A Conversation between Jon Magnussen and Eric Maskin.
His mathematical journey at Harvard began almost accidentally when he stumbled upon Kenneth Arrow’s course on information economics, which introduced him to Leonid Hurwicz’s pioneering work in mechanism design — a revelation that profoundly shaped his entire career. During his studies, he worked alongside his classmate and future co-laureate Roger Myerson. Read The Economics of Kenneth J. Arrow: A Selective Review.
Visit his Harvard Faculty Page,Wikipedia, dblp, and Nobel Prize Biography.