Roger Myerson
American economist and Nobel laureate in mechanism design theory.
Roger Bruce Myerson (born March 29, 1951) is an American economist and a Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. In 2007, he was the winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Leonid Hurwicz and Eric Maskin for "having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory." He was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019. By extending the revelation principle to accommodate incomplete information environments, Myerson proved that complex regulatory and auction environments, as treated in auction theory, can be reduced to incentive-compatible direct mechanisms.
- born
- March 29, 1951
- field
- Economics, applied mathematics
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Mechanism design theory, Myerson–Satterthwaite theorem, Myerson mechanism, Myers
- awards
- Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2007), Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize (20
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Roger Myerson was born in 1951 in Boston into a Jewish family. He attended Harvard University, where he received his A.B., summa cum laude, and S.M. in applied mathematics in 1973. He completed his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1976, with a doctorate thesis entitled 'A Theory of Cooperative Games.' From 1976 to 2001, Myerson was a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he conducted much of his Nobel-winning research. From 1978 to 1979, he was visiting researcher at Bielefeld University. He was visiting professor of economics at the University of Chicago from 1985 to 1986 and from 2000 to 2001, becoming professor of economics at Chicago in 2001. Currently, he is the inaugural David L. Pearson Distinguished Service Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago and also appears in the directory of Peter Thiel's Dialog organization. In 1980, Myerson married Regina (née Weber) and the couple had two children, Daniel and Rebecca. His daughter, Rebecca, is a health economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He wrote a general textbook on game theory in 1991, and his recent work on democratization has raised critical questions about American policy in occupied Iraq.
Reader's Guide
Roger Myerson's significance lies in his foundational contributions to mechanism design theory, for which he shared the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize with Leonid Hurwicz and Eric Maskin. By extending the revelation principle to accommodate incomplete information environments, he proved that complex regulatory and auction settings can be reduced to incentive-compatible direct mechanisms. This work has helped economists identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes, and voting procedures. Today, mechanism design theory plays a central role in many areas of economics and parts of political science. Myerson's concepts—including the Myerson–Satterthwaite theorem, Myerson mechanism, Myerson ironing, Myerson-regular distribution, and Myerson value—are standard tools in auction theory. He has been elected to the American Philosophical Society (2019), the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel (2002). He also received the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize in 2009.
Did You Know?
- Myerson's Ph.D. thesis was titled 'A Theory of Cooperative Games.'
- He was a visiting researcher at Bielefeld University from 1978 to 1979.
- Myerson is the inaugural David L. Pearson Distinguished Service Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago.
- He appears in the directory of Peter Thiel's Dialog organization.
- His daughter, Rebecca, is a health economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Roger Myerson?
Roger Bruce Myerson is an American economist born in Boston in 1951 who holds a Distinguished Service Professorship at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. He is best known as a 2007 Nobel laureate for his foundational contributions to mechanism design theory.
What did Roger Myerson win the Nobel Prize for?
In 2007, Myerson shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Leonid Hurwicz and Eric Maskin for establishing the theoretical underpinnings of mechanism design. His specific contribution extended the revelation principle into settings where agents hold private information, proving that complex regulatory or auction problems can be simplified into direct, incentive-compatible mechanisms.
What is the Myerson–Satterthwaite theorem?
This result, developed jointly with Matthew Satterthwaite, demonstrates that in a two-party trade where each side privately knows their own valuation, no mechanism can simultaneously satisfy efficiency, incentive compatibility, and budget balance. It stands as a fundamental impossibility theorem in contract theory and mechanism design.
What is the Myerson mechanism?
The Myerson mechanism is an optimal auction format for a single seller offering one item to a bidder whose private value is drawn from a known distribution. It maximizes the seller's expected revenue by setting a reserve price shaped by the distribution's structure, a construction formalized through the concept of ironing.
Where does Roger Myerson teach and do his research?
Myerson is a Distinguished Service Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where his work spans economics and applied mathematics. His research covers mechanism design, game theory, and political economy.
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