Robert B. Wilson facts for kids

Robert Butler "Bob" Wilson, Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American economist. He is a distinguished professor at Stanford University. In 2020, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He shared this award with his former student, Paul Milgrom. They were honored for improving how auctions work. Two other students of his, Alvin E. Roth and Bengt Holmström, also won Nobel Prizes.

Wilson is known for his work in management science. This field uses math to help businesses make better decisions. He also contributed to business economics. His early work helped create a method called sequential quadratic programming. This method solves complex math problems. With other experts, he used non-cooperative game theory to study how businesses compete. His ideas on how companies set prices have helped industries like electricity.

Early Life and Education

Robert Wilson was born on May 16, 1937. His hometown was Geneva, Nebraska. He went to Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. He earned a full scholarship to Harvard University. He received his first degree from Harvard in 1959. Later, he earned two more degrees from Harvard Business School. He got his M.B.A. in 1961 and his D.B.A. in 1963.

After a short time at the University of California, Los Angeles, he joined Stanford University. He has been a professor at the Stanford Business School since 1964.

What Robert Wilson Studied

Wilson's research focuses on how markets are designed. He studies how prices are set and how people negotiate. He is an expert in game theory. This is a way to understand how people make decisions when they depend on others' choices.

He has helped design many auctions. These include auctions for oil, communication, and power. He also worked on new ways to set prices. For example, his ideas on priority service pricing are used in the electricity industry.

In 1993, Wilson wrote a book called Nonlinear Pricing. This book looked at how public services like power and transport set their fees. The book won the Leo Melamed Prize in 1995. This award recognizes excellent work by business professors.

His work in game theory also covers other areas. These include wage talks and strikes. He also studied how companies use pricing to compete.

Awards and Recognition

Robert Wilson has received many honors for his work. He has published about 100 articles and books.

Nobel Prize in Economics

In 2020, Robert Wilson and Paul Milgrom won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave them the award. They were recognized for improving auction theory. They also invented new ways to run auctions. These new methods help sellers, buyers, and taxpayers worldwide.

Alvin E. Roth, another Nobel winner and Wilson's former student, praised their work. He said they "changed how things are auctioned." Wilson's research showed how people bid in "common value auctions." In these auctions, the item has the same value to everyone. Examples include radio frequencies or minerals. He proved that bidders often bid lower to avoid the "winner's curse." This happens when the winner pays too much because they overestimated the item's value.

Other Honors and Memberships

Wilson is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a distinguished fellow of the American Economic Association. In 1986, he received an honorary degree from the Norwegian School of Economics. The University of Chicago gave him an honorary law degree in 1995.

In 2014, Wilson won a Golden Goose Award. This was for his work on designing auctions. He also received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2015. This award recognized his work on how people make choices with limited information. In 2018, he won the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science. He shared this award with colleagues David M. Kreps and Paul Milgrom.

Views on Economic Policy

In June 2024, Robert Wilson joined 15 other Nobel Prize winners in economics. They signed an open letter. The letter discussed how certain economic policies could affect the United States economy. They shared their views on how these policies might lead to inflation.

See also

In Spanish: Robert B. Wilson para niños

• Wilson doctrine (economics)