Economics
Stanford Economists Win Nobel Prize for Research on Auctions
- Theories applied in areas from landing slots to mobile phones
- Wilson was the thesis adviser of fellow winner Milgrom
This article is for subscribers only.
Two Stanford University academics who helped design the U.S. auction that allocates mobile-phone frequencies will share the 2020 Nobel Prize in economics.
Paul Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson, who won’t be traveling to Stockholm to receive the award due to the Covid-19 crisis, have had their ideas applied to sales of everything from aircraft landing slots to fishing quotas. Their theories are even evolving to encompass renewable energy markets.