Americans Paul R. Milgrom, left on screen, and Robert B. Wilson have won the Nobel Prize in economics for "improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats."
American economists Paul R Milgrom and Robert B Wilson on Monday won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats". The Nobel Committee said that auctions are everywhere and affect "our everyday lives", adding that their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.
The auction formats developed by the duo have been used to sell radio frequencies, fishing quotas and airport landing slots.
The committee said Wilson's work showed “why rational bidders tend to place bids below their own best estimate of the common value,” that is, “the value which is uncertain beforehand but, in the end, is the same for everyone.” “(Bidders) are worried about the winner’s curse — that is, about paying too much and losing out,” the committee said.
Milgrom developed a more general theory of auctions that takes into account was is known as the “private value” of what's being sold that can vary greatly from bidder to bidder.
Speaking to reporters in Stockholm by phone after learning of his win, Wilson struggled to think of an auction he himself had participated in. But then added: “My wife points out to me that we bought ski boots on eBay. I guess that was an auction.”
Last year’s award went to two researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a third from Harvard University, for their groundbreaking research into efforts to reduce global poverty.
Few economists could have predicted last fall that the globe would come to a virtual standstill within months, as governments closed their borders, imposed lockdowns and ordered other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, triggering a sharp dip in business activity worldwide.
The winners were announced in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The prestigious award comes with a 10-million krona ($1.1 million) cash prize and a gold medal. The award caps a week of Nobel Prizes at a time when much of the world is experiencing the worst recession since World War II because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Technically known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the award was established in 1969 and is now widely considered one of the Nobel prizes.
Last week, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. The prize for physics honoured breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes, and the chemistry prize went to scientists behind a powerful gene-editing tool. The literature prize was awarded to American poet Louise Glück for her “candid and uncompromising” work. The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize for its effort to combat hunger worldwide.
With Inputs from AP
