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{{short description|Economist and winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics}}
{{other people|Robert Wilson}}
{{other people|Robert Wilson}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Robert B. Wilson
|name = Robert B. Wilson
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|death_place =
|death_place =
|education = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]], [[Doctor of Business Administration|DBA]])
|education = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]], [[Doctor of Business Administration|DBA]])
|thesis_url = http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990048481930203941/catalog
|thesis_title = A simplicial algorithm for concave programming
|thesis_year = 1963
|doctoral_advisor = [[Howard Raiffa]]
|doctoral_advisor = [[Howard Raiffa]]
|doctoral_students = [[Claude d'Aspremont Lynden]]<br>[[Robert Gibbons|Robert Gibbons (economist)]]<br>[[Bengt R. Holmström]]<br>[[Paul Milgrom]]<br>[[Jean-Pierre Ponssard]]<br>[[Robert W. Rosenthal]]<br>[[Alvin E. Roth]]<br>[[Yuliy Sannikov]]
|doctoral_students = [[Claude d'Aspremont Lynden]]<br>[[Peter Cramton]]<br>[[Robert Gibbons (economist)|Robert Gibbons]]<br>[[Benjamin Golub]]<br>[[Bengt R. Holmström]]<br>[[Matthew O. Jackson]]<br>[[Paul Milgrom]]<br>[[Jean-Pierre Ponssard]]<br>[[Robert W. Rosenthal]]<br>[[Alvin E. Roth]]<br>[[Yuliy Sannikov]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Robert Wilson|url=https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=130034|access-date=October 13, 2021|website=Mathematics Genealogy Project}}</ref>
|known_for = [[Game theory]] in [[industrial organization]]<br>[[Sequential quadratic programming]]
|known_for = [[Game theory]] in [[industrial organization]]<br>[[Sequential quadratic programming]]
|field = [[Economist]]<br>[[Operations research|Management science]]
|field = [[Economist]]<br>[[Operations research|Management science]]
|workplaces = [[Stanford University]]<br>[[Harvard Law School]]
|workplaces = [[Stanford University]]<br>
|prizes = [[Golden Goose Award]] (2014)<br>[[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2015)<br>[[Nobel Prize in Economics]] (2020)
|prizes = [[Golden Goose Award]] (2014)<br>[[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2015)<br>[[Nobel Prize in Economics]] (2020)
}}
}}
'''Robert Butler "Bob" Wilson, Jr.''' (born May 16, 1937) is an American [[economist]] and the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus at [[Stanford University]]. He was jointly awarded the 2020 [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]], together with his Stanford colleague [[Paul Milgrom|Paul R. Milgrom]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Business|first=Charles Riley, CNN|title=Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html|access-date=2020-10-12|website=CNN}}</ref> "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats."<ref name=nobelpressrelease>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 12, 2020 |title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2020 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/09/press-economicsciences2020.pdf |publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Riley |first1=Charles |title=Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for auction theory |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html?utm_source=digg |publisher=CNN}}</ref>
'''Robert Butler "Bob" Wilson, Jr.''' (born May 16, 1937) is an American [[economist]] who is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus at [[Stanford University]]. He was jointly awarded the [[2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences]], together with his Stanford colleague and former student [[Paul Milgrom|Paul R. Milgrom]],<ref>{{Cite web|author=Charles Riley|title=Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html|access-date=October 12, 2020|website=CNN|date=October 12, 2020 |archive-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012120239/https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new [[Auction#Types|auction formats]]".<ref name=nobelpressrelease>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 12, 2020 |title=The Prize in Economic Sciences 2020 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/09/press-economicsciences2020.pdf |publisher=Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |access-date=October 12, 2020 |archive-date=October 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012212052/https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2020/09/press-economicsciences2020.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Riley |first1=Charles |title=Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for auction theory |date=October 12, 2020 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-prize-economics/index.html |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Two more of his students, [[Alvin E. Roth]] and [[Bengt Holmström]], are also Nobel Laureates in their own right.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2012/summary/|access-date=October 14, 2020|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|archive-date=October 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013221809/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2012/summary/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2016|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2016/summary/|access-date=October 14, 2020|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|archive-date=October 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010213504/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2016/|url-status=live}}</ref>


Wilson is known for his contributions to [[operations research|management science]] and [[business economics]]. His doctoral thesis introduced [[sequential quadratic programming]], which became a leading [[iterative method]] for [[nonlinear programming]]. With other [[mathematical economist]]s at the Stanford Business School, he helped to reformulate the economics of [[industrial organization]] and [[organization theory]] using [[non-cooperative game theory]]. His research on [[nonlinear pricing]] has influenced policies for large firms, particularly in the [[energy industry]], especially electricity.
Wilson is known for his contributions to [[operations research|management science]] and [[business economics]]. His doctoral thesis introduced [[sequential quadratic programming]], which became a leading [[iterative method]] for [[nonlinear programming]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Research Gate - Sequential Quadratic Programming Methods|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226987588|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181035/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226987588_Sequential_Quadratic_Programming_Methods|archive-date=October 18, 2020|access-date=October 17, 2020|website=Researchgate}}</ref> With other [[mathematical economist]]s at Stanford, he helped to reformulate the economics of [[industrial organization]] and [[organization theory]] using [[non-cooperative game theory]].<ref name="Robert Wilson">{{Cite web|title=Robert Wilson|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Stanford Graduate School of Business|language=en|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181030/https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Roth|first1=Alvin E.|last2=Wilson|first2=Robert B.|date=August 1, 2019|title=How Market Design Emerged from Game Theory: A Mutual Interview|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives|language=en|volume=33|issue=3|pages=118–143|doi=10.1257/jep.33.3.118|issn=0895-3309|doi-access=free}}</ref> His research on [[nonlinear pricing]] has influenced policies for large firms, particularly in the [[energy industry]], especially electricity.<ref name="Nonlinear Pricing">{{Cite web|title=Nonlinear Pricing|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/nonlinear-pricing|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Stanford Graduate School of Business|language=en|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513124559/https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/nonlinear-pricing|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wilson|first=Robert|date=2002|title=Architecture of Power Markets|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0262.00334|journal=Econometrica|language=en|volume=70|issue=4|pages=1299–1340|doi=10.1111/1468-0262.00334|issn=1468-0262|access-date=October 18, 2020|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181026/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0262.00334|url-status=live}}</ref>


== Early life and academic career ==
== Early life and academic career ==
Wilson was born on May 16, 1937, in [[Geneva, Nebraska|Geneva]], [[Nebraska]]. He graduated from a high school in Nebraska and earned a full scholarship to [[Harvard University]]. He received his [[Bachelor of Arts|A.B.]] from [[Harvard College]] in 1959. He then completed his [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]] in 1961 and his [[Doctor of Business Administration|D.B.A]]. in 1963 from the [[Harvard Business School]].<ref name="stanfordcv">{{cite web|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson|title=RobertWilson|website=Stanford University|access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> He worked at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] for a very brief time and then joined the faculty at [[Stanford University]]. He has been on the faculty of the [[Stanford Business School]] since 1964.<ref name="stanfordcv"/> He was also an affiliated faculty member of [[Harvard Law School]] from 1993 to 2001.
Wilson was born on May 16, 1937, in [[Geneva, Nebraska|Geneva]], [[Nebraska]]. He graduated from [[Lincoln High School (Lincoln, Nebraska)|Lincoln High School]] in Lincoln, Nebraska and earned a full scholarship to [[Harvard University]]. He received his [[Bachelor of Arts|A.B.]] degree from [[Harvard College]] in 1959. Wilson subsequently obtained an [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]] in 1961 and a [[Doctor of Business Administration|D.B.A]]. in 1963 from the [[Harvard Business School]].<ref name="thesis-wilson-1963">{{cite thesis |title=Some Theory and Methods of Mathematical Programming |date=1963 |institution=Harvard University |degree=Ph.D. |last=Wilson |first=Robert Butler |id={{ProQuest|302254825}} |oclc=229908216}}</ref><ref name="stanfordcv">{{cite web|url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson|title=RobertWilson|website=Stanford University|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012212102/https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson|url-status=live}}</ref> He worked at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], for a very brief time and then joined the faculty at [[Stanford University]]. He has been on the faculty of the [[Stanford Business School]] since 1964.<ref name="stanfordcv"/> He was also an affiliated faculty member of [[Harvard Law School]] from 1993 to 2001.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=GSB Faculty - Robert Wilson|url=https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/robert-wilson/files/2019/12/wilsonrobert-cv-bytopic-july_2018.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181024/https://gsb-faculty.stanford.edu/robert-wilson/files/2019/12/wilsonrobert-cv-bytopic-july_2018.pdf|archive-date=October 18, 2020|access-date=October 17, 2020|website=Graduate School of Business - Faculty}}</ref>


== Research ==
== Research ==
Wilson is known for research and teaching on market design, pricing, negotiation, and related topics concerning industrial organization and information economics. He is an expert on game theory and its applications. He has been a major contributor to auction designs and competitive bidding strategies in the oil, communication, and power industries, and to the design of innovative pricing schemes. His work on pricing of priority service for electric power has been implemented in the utility industry.
Wilson is known for research and teaching on market design, pricing, negotiation, and related topics concerning industrial organization and information economics. He is an expert on game theory and its applications. He has been a major contributor to auction designs and competitive bidding strategies in the oil, communication, and power industries, and to the design of innovative pricing schemes. His work on pricing of priority service for electric power has been implemented in the utility industry.<ref name="Robert Wilson"/><ref name="Robert Wilson {{!}} SIEPR">{{Cite web|title=Robert Wilson {{!}} SIEPR|url=https://siepr.stanford.edu/events/speakers/robert-wilson|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=siepr.stanford.edu|archive-date=December 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213084007/https://siepr.stanford.edu/events/speakers/robert-wilson|url-status=live}}</ref>


Wilson's 1968 [[Econometrica]] paper ''The Theory of the Syndicates''<ref>{{cite journal |first=Robert |last=Wilson |title=The Theory of Syndicates |journal=[[Econometrica]] |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=1968 |pages=119-132 |jstor=1909607 |doi=10.2307/1909607}}</ref> influenced a whole generation of economics, finance, and accounting students. The paper poses a fundamental question: Under what conditions does the expected utility representation describe the behavior of a group of individuals who choose lotteries and share risk in a [[Pareto-optimal]] way?
Wilson's 1968 ''[[Econometrica]]'' paper ''The Theory of the Syndicates''<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |first=Robert |last=Wilson |title=The Theory of Syndicates |journal=[[Econometrica]] |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=1968 |pages=119–132 |jstor=1909607 |doi=10.2307/1909607}}</ref> influenced a whole generation of economics, finance, and accounting students. The paper poses a fundamental question: Under what conditions does the expected utility representation describe the behavior of a group of individuals who choose lotteries and share risk in a [[Pareto-optimal]] way?<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eliashberg|first1=Jehoshua|last2=Winkler|first2=Robert L.|date=November 1, 1981|title=Risk Sharing and Group Decision Making|url=https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.27.11.1221|journal=Management Science|volume=27|issue=11|pages=1221–1235|doi=10.1287/mnsc.27.11.1221|issn=0025-1909|hdl=10419/220779|hdl-access=free}}</ref>


He has published about a hundred articles in professional journals and books since completing his education. He has been an associate editor of several journals, and delivered several public lectures.
He has published about a hundred articles in professional journals and books since completing his education. He has been an associate editor of several journals, and delivered several public lectures.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Professor Robert Wilson -- Resume|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~rwilson/wilsonr.htm|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=web.stanford.edu|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181148/https://web.stanford.edu/~rwilson/wilsonr.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" />


In 1993, Wilson published a book on Nonlinear Pricing.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert B. |last=Wilson|title=Nonlinear Pricing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L_GadnJfZakC|year=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-511582-6|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> It is an encyclopedic analysis of tariff design and related topics for public utilities, including power, communications, and transport. The book won the 1995 Leo Melamed Prize, a prize awarded biannually by the University of Chicago for “outstanding scholarship by a business professor.”
In 1993, Wilson published a book on Nonlinear Pricing.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert B.|last=Wilson|title=Nonlinear Pricing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L_GadnJfZakC|year=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-511582-6|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=January 20, 2018|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181037/https://books.google.com/books?id=L_GadnJfZakC|url-status=live}}</ref> It is an encyclopedic analysis of tariff design and related topics for public utilities, including power, communications, and transport.<ref name="Nonlinear Pricing"/> The book won the 1995 Leo Melamed Prize, a prize awarded biannually by the University of Chicago for "outstanding scholarship by a business professor."<ref>{{Cite web|last=MSRI|title=Mathematical Sciences Research Institute|url=http://www.msri.org/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=www.msri.org|archive-date=September 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927124029/http://www.msri.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>


Other contributions to game theory includes wage bargaining and strikes, and in legal contexts, settlement negotiations. He has authored some of the basic studies of reputational effects in [[predatory pricing]], price wars, and other competitive battles.
Other contributions to game theory includes wage bargaining and strikes, and in legal contexts, settlement negotiations. He has authored some of the basic studies of reputational effects in [[predatory pricing]], price wars, and other competitive battles.<ref name="Robert Wilson {{!}} SIEPR"/>


== Honors ==
== Honors ==
Since Wilson completed the Bachelor, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees at Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, he has published about 100 articles in professional journals and books, for which he has received many honors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Wilson |url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson |website=Graduate School of Stanford Business |accessdate=6 April 2019}}</ref>
Since Wilson completed the Bachelor, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees at Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, he has published about 100 articles in professional journals and books, for which he has received many honors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Wilson |url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson |website=Graduate School of Stanford Business |access-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406190258/https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-wilson |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics ===
=== Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics ===
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences explained that it chose Wilson and Paul Milgrom as the co-recipients of the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics because "[t]heir theoretical discoveries have improved auctions in practice. . . . Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world."<ref name=nobelpressrelease></ref> [[Alvin E. Roth | Alvin Roth]] (an economist who was a co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize and who had Wilson as his doctoral advisor) said that Wilson and Milgrom "haven’t just profoundly changed the way we understand auctions - they have changed how things are auctioned."<ref>{{cite news | last = Smialek | first = Jeanna | title = U.S. Auction Theorists Win the 2020 Nobel in Economics: Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson were honored for work that has pushed auctions into new and useful territory | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 12, 2020 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-economics-paul-milgrom-robert-wilson.html}}</ref>
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Wilson and Paul Milgrom as the co-recipients of the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for having "improved auction theory and invented new auction formats, beneftting sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world".<ref name=nobelpressrelease /> [[Alvin E. Roth|Alvin Roth]] (an economist who was a co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize and who had Wilson as his doctoral advisor) said that Wilson and Milgrom "haven't just profoundly changed the way we understand auctions{{Spaced en dash}}they have changed how things are auctioned."<ref>{{cite news | last = Smialek | first = Jeanna | title = U.S. Auction Theorists Win the 2020 Nobel in Economics: Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson were honored for work that has pushed auctions into new and useful territory | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 12, 2020 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-economics-paul-milgrom-robert-wilson.html | access-date = October 13, 2020 | archive-date = October 13, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201013002322/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/business/nobel-economics-paul-milgrom-robert-wilson.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Specifically, the Academy acknowledged Wilson's efforts in analyzing common value auctions, where bidders derive a common value from the underlying resource, and his theoretical proofs that bidders tend to bid lower than their best estimates of common value, in order to avoid the [[winner's curse]]. Some examples of common value auctions include radio frequency spectrum, and minerals.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2020/press-release/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014221855/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2020/press-release/|url-status=live}}</ref>


=== Memberships and awards ===
=== Memberships and awards ===
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a designated ‘distinguished fellow’ of the American Economic Association, and a fellow, former officer and Council member of the Econometric Society. He was conferred an honorary Doctor of Economics degree in 1986 by the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. In 1995, he was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the [[University of Chicago]]. In 2014, Wilson won a [[Golden Goose Award]] for his work involving auction design.<ref>{{cite web | title=Auction Design | url=http://www.goldengooseaward.org/awardees/2014/12/4/2014-auction-design | publisher=The Golden Goose Award | accessdate=2015-05-27}}</ref>
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a designated 'distinguished fellow' of the American Economic Association, and a fellow, former officer and Council member of the Econometric Society. He was conferred an honorary Doctor of Economics degree in 1986 by the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. In 1995, he was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the [[University of Chicago]].<ref name="Robert Wilson"/> In 2014, Wilson won a [[Golden Goose Award]] for his work involving auction design.<ref>{{cite web | title=Auction Design | url=http://www.goldengooseaward.org/awardees/2014/12/4/2014-auction-design | publisher=The Golden Goose Award | access-date=May 27, 2015 | archive-date=September 9, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909231630/http://www.goldengooseaward.org/awardees/2014/12/4/2014-auction-design | url-status=dead }}</ref>


He has won the [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2015) in the Economics, Finance and Management category for his “pioneering contributions to the analysis of strategic interactions when economic agents have limited and different information about their environment”. With colleagues [[David M. Kreps]] and [[Paul Milgrom]], he was awarded the 2018 [[John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science]].
He has won the [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2015) in the Economics, Finance and Management category for his "pioneering contributions to the analysis of strategic interactions when economic agents have limited and different information about their environment".<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 5, 2017|title=The BBVA Foundation Award goes to Robert Wilson for his pioneering analysis of economic interactions under information asymmetry, and his broadening of the field to include reputation-building as a spur to cooperation|url=http://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/the-bbva-foundation-award-goes-to-robert-wilson-for-his-pioneering-analysis-of-economic-interactions-under-information-asymmetry-and-his-broadening-of-the-field-to-include-reputation-building-as-sp/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Premios Fronteras|language=es|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018181032/https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/the-bbva-foundation-award-goes-to-robert-wilson-for-his-pioneering-analysis-of-economic-interactions-under-information-asymmetry-and-his-broadening-of-the-field-to-include-reputation-building-as-sp/|url-status=live}}</ref> With colleagues [[David M. Kreps]] and [[Paul Milgrom]], he was awarded the 2018 [[John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=University|first=Stanford|date=October 12, 2020|title=Stanford economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson win the Nobel in economic sciences|url=https://news.stanford.edu/2020/10/12/stanford-economists-paul-milgrom-robert-wilson-win-nobel-economic-sciences/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Stanford News|language=en|archive-date=October 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015040038/https://news.stanford.edu/2020/10/12/stanford-economists-paul-milgrom-robert-wilson-win-nobel-economic-sciences/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Wilson doctrine (economics)]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 48: Line 55:


==External links==
==External links==
⚫
* {{cite web |url=https://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/CV/Wilson,Robert-CV-Chronological-January%202014.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae of Robert B. Wilson |accessdate=2018-01-21 |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Stanford University}}
* {{cite web |url=http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/author.cgi?&link1=Search&link2=Search%20Results&AuthLastName=wilson&AuthFirstName=robert&AuthMiddleName=&AuthMailnstName=&CountryID=-1&DisciplineID=0&id=1628 |title=Robert B. Wison |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author= |date= |work= |publisher=ISI HighlyCitied.com}}
* {{cite web |url=http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/articles.html |title=Articles published by Wilson |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Stanford University}}
* {{cite web |url=http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/research.html |title=Selected Working Papers and Publications |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author= |date= |work= |publisher=Stanford University}}
* [http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/index.html Personal web page]
* [http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/index.html Personal web page]
⚫
* {{cite web |url=https://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/wilson/CV/Wilson,Robert-CV-Chronological-January%202014.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae of Robert B. Wilson |access-date=January 21, 2018 |publisher=Stanford University}}
* {{citation|title=Contributions to the ''New Palgrave''|author1=David&nbsp;M. Kreps|author1-link=David M. Kreps|author2=John Roberts|author2-link=Donald John Roberts|author3=Robert&nbsp;B. Wilson|author3-link=|date=July 1986|pages=|url=https://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP892.pdf|accessdate=7 February 2011|series=Research paper|volume=892|publisher=Graduate School of Business, Stanford University|location=Palo Alto,&nbsp;CA|id=(Draft of articles for the first edition of ''New&nbsp;Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'')}}
* {{MathGenealogy|id=130034}}
* {{MathGenealogy}}
* {{Nobelprize}}
* {{Nobelprize}}


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Latest revision as of 22:47, 16 December 2024

For other people named Robert Wilson, see Robert Wilson (disambiguation).

Robert B. Wilson
Born (1937-05-16) May 16, 1937 (age 87)
Geneva, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA, MBA, DBA)
Known forGame theory in industrial organization
Sequential quadratic programming
AwardsGolden Goose Award (2014)
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2015)
Nobel Prize in Economics (2020)
Scientific career
FieldsEconomist
Management science
InstitutionsStanford University
ThesisA simplicial algorithm for concave programming (1963)
Doctoral advisorHoward Raiffa
Doctoral studentsClaude d'Aspremont Lynden
Peter Cramton
Robert Gibbons
Benjamin Golub
Bengt R. Holmström
Matthew O. Jackson
Paul Milgrom
Jean-Pierre Ponssard
Robert W. Rosenthal
Alvin E. Roth
Yuliy Sannikov[1]

Robert Butler "Bob" Wilson, Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American economist who is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus at Stanford University. He was jointly awarded the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, together with his Stanford colleague and former student Paul R. Milgrom,[2] "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats".[3][4] Two more of his students, Alvin E. Roth and Bengt Holmström, are also Nobel Laureates in their own right.[5][6]

Wilson is known for his contributions to management science and business economics. His doctoral thesis introduced sequential quadratic programming, which became a leading iterative method for nonlinear programming.[7] With other mathematical economists at Stanford, he helped to reformulate the economics of industrial organization and organization theory using non-cooperative game theory.[8][9] His research on nonlinear pricing has influenced policies for large firms, particularly in the energy industry, especially electricity.[10][11]

Early life and academic career

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Wilson was born on May 16, 1937, in Geneva, Nebraska. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska and earned a full scholarship to Harvard University. He received his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1959. Wilson subsequently obtained an M.B.A. in 1961 and a D.B.A. in 1963 from the Harvard Business School.[12][13] He worked at the University of California, Los Angeles, for a very brief time and then joined the faculty at Stanford University. He has been on the faculty of the Stanford Business School since 1964.[13] He was also an affiliated faculty member of Harvard Law School from 1993 to 2001.[14]

Research

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Wilson is known for research and teaching on market design, pricing, negotiation, and related topics concerning industrial organization and information economics. He is an expert on game theory and its applications. He has been a major contributor to auction designs and competitive bidding strategies in the oil, communication, and power industries, and to the design of innovative pricing schemes. His work on pricing of priority service for electric power has been implemented in the utility industry.[8][15]

Wilson's 1968 Econometrica paper The Theory of the Syndicates[16] influenced a whole generation of economics, finance, and accounting students. The paper poses a fundamental question: Under what conditions does the expected utility representation describe the behavior of a group of individuals who choose lotteries and share risk in a Pareto-optimal way?[16][17]

He has published about a hundred articles in professional journals and books since completing his education. He has been an associate editor of several journals, and delivered several public lectures.[18][14]

In 1993, Wilson published a book on Nonlinear Pricing.[19] It is an encyclopedic analysis of tariff design and related topics for public utilities, including power, communications, and transport.[10] The book won the 1995 Leo Melamed Prize, a prize awarded biannually by the University of Chicago for "outstanding scholarship by a business professor."[20]

Other contributions to game theory includes wage bargaining and strikes, and in legal contexts, settlement negotiations. He has authored some of the basic studies of reputational effects in predatory pricing, price wars, and other competitive battles.[15]

Honors

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Since Wilson completed the Bachelor, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees at Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, he has published about 100 articles in professional journals and books, for which he has received many honors.[21]

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Wilson and Paul Milgrom as the co-recipients of the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for having "improved auction theory and invented new auction formats, beneftting sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world".[3] Alvin Roth (an economist who was a co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize and who had Wilson as his doctoral advisor) said that Wilson and Milgrom "haven't just profoundly changed the way we understand auctions – they have changed how things are auctioned."[22] Specifically, the Academy acknowledged Wilson's efforts in analyzing common value auctions, where bidders derive a common value from the underlying resource, and his theoretical proofs that bidders tend to bid lower than their best estimates of common value, in order to avoid the winner's curse. Some examples of common value auctions include radio frequency spectrum, and minerals.[23]

Memberships and awards

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He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a designated 'distinguished fellow' of the American Economic Association, and a fellow, former officer and Council member of the Econometric Society. He was conferred an honorary Doctor of Economics degree in 1986 by the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. In 1995, he was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Chicago.[8] In 2014, Wilson won a Golden Goose Award for his work involving auction design.[24]

He has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2015) in the Economics, Finance and Management category for his "pioneering contributions to the analysis of strategic interactions when economic agents have limited and different information about their environment".[25] With colleagues David M. Kreps and Paul Milgrom, he was awarded the 2018 John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Robert Wilson". Mathematics Genealogy Project. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  2. ^ Charles Riley (October 12, 2020). "Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson". CNN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The Prize in Economic Sciences 2020" (PDF) (Press release). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. October 12, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Riley, Charles (October 12, 2020). "Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for auction theory". CNN.
  5. ^ "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012". NobelPrize.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2016". NobelPrize.org. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Research Gate - Sequential Quadratic Programming Methods". Researchgate. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Robert Wilson". Stanford Graduate School of Business. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Roth, Alvin E.; Wilson, Robert B. (August 1, 2019). "How Market Design Emerged from Game Theory: A Mutual Interview". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 33 (3): 118–143. doi:10.1257/jep.33.3.118. ISSN 0895-3309.
  10. ^ a b "Nonlinear Pricing". Stanford Graduate School of Business. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Wilson, Robert (2002). "Architecture of Power Markets". Econometrica. 70 (4): 1299–1340. doi:10.1111/1468-0262.00334. ISSN 1468-0262. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Wilson, Robert Butler (1963). Some Theory and Methods of Mathematical Programming (Ph.D. thesis). Harvard University. OCLC 229908216. ProQuest 302254825.
  13. ^ a b "RobertWilson". Stanford University. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "GSB Faculty - Robert Wilson" (PDF). Graduate School of Business - Faculty. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Robert Wilson | SIEPR". siepr.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Wilson, Robert (1968). "The Theory of Syndicates". Econometrica. 36 (1): 119–132. doi:10.2307/1909607. JSTOR 1909607.
  17. ^ Eliashberg, Jehoshua; Winkler, Robert L. (November 1, 1981). "Risk Sharing and Group Decision Making". Management Science. 27 (11): 1221–1235. doi:10.1287/mnsc.27.11.1221. hdl:10419/220779. ISSN 0025-1909.
  18. ^ "Professor Robert Wilson -- Resume". web.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  19. ^ Wilson, Robert B. (1993). Nonlinear Pricing. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511582-6. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2018 – via Google Books.
  20. ^ MSRI. "Mathematical Sciences Research Institute". www.msri.org. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ^ "Robert Wilson". Graduate School of Stanford Business. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  22. ^ Smialek, Jeanna (October 12, 2020). "U.S. Auction Theorists Win the 2020 Nobel in Economics: Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson were honored for work that has pushed auctions into new and useful territory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  23. ^ "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020". NobelPrize.org. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  24. ^ "Auction Design". The Golden Goose Award. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  25. ^ "The BBVA Foundation Award goes to Robert Wilson for his pioneering analysis of economic interactions under information asymmetry, and his broadening of the field to include reputation-building as a spur to cooperation". Premios Fronteras (in Spanish). June 5, 2017. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  26. ^ University, Stanford (October 12, 2020). "Stanford economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson win the Nobel in economic sciences". Stanford News. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
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