James Mirrlees
Encyclopedia
Sir James Alexander Mirrlees (born 5 July 1936) is a Scottish
economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
. He was knighted
in 1998.
Born in Minnigaff
, Wigtownshire
, Mirrlees was educated at the University of Edinburgh
and Trinity College, Cambridge
, where he was a very active student debater. One contemporary, Quentin Skinner has suggested that Mirrlees was a member of the Cambridge Apostles
along with fellow Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen
during this period. Between 1968 and 1976, Mirrlees was a visiting professor at MIT
three times. He taught at both Oxford University (1969–1995) and University of Cambridge
(1963- and 1995-).
During his time at Oxford he published papers on economic models for which he would eventually be awarded his Nobel Prize. They centred on situations in which economic information is asymmetrical or incomplete, determining the extent to which they should affect the optimal rate of saving in an economy. Among other results, they demonstrated the principles of "moral hazard
" and "optimal income taxation" discussed in the books of William Vickrey
. The methodology has since become the standard in the field.
Mirrlees and Vickrey shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Economics "for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information".
Mirrlees is also co-creator, with MIT Professor Peter A. Diamond
of the Diamond-Mirrlees Efficiency Theorem, developed in 1971.
Mirrlees is emeritus Professor of Political Economy
at the University of Cambridge
, and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
. He spends several months a year at the University of Melbourne
, Australia. He is currently the Distinguished Professor-at-Large of The Chinese University of Hong Kong as well as University of Macau
. In 2009, he was appointed Master of the Morningside College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, along with the biologist Samuel Sun Sai-ming.
Mirrlees is a member of Scotland
's Council of Economic Advisers
.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
. He was knighted
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
in 1998.
Born in Minnigaff
Minnigaff
Minnigaff is a village on the A714 in Dumfries and Galloway, on the east side of the River Cree.Places nearby include Auchinleck, Bargrennan, Challoch, Newton Stewart...
, Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...
, Mirrlees was educated at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where he was a very active student debater. One contemporary, Quentin Skinner has suggested that Mirrlees was a member of the Cambridge Apostles
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
along with fellow Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen, CH is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members...
during this period. Between 1968 and 1976, Mirrlees was a visiting professor at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
three times. He taught at both Oxford University (1969–1995) and University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(1963- and 1995-).
During his time at Oxford he published papers on economic models for which he would eventually be awarded his Nobel Prize. They centred on situations in which economic information is asymmetrical or incomplete, determining the extent to which they should affect the optimal rate of saving in an economy. Among other results, they demonstrated the principles of "moral hazard
Moral hazard
In economic theory, moral hazard refers to a situation in which a party makes a decision about how much risk to take, while another party bears the costs if things go badly, and the party insulated from risk behaves differently from how it would if it were fully exposed to the risk.Moral hazard...
" and "optimal income taxation" discussed in the books of William Vickrey
William Vickrey
William Spencer Vickrey was a Canadian professor of economics and Nobel Laureate. Vickrey was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with James Mirrlees for their research into the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information...
. The methodology has since become the standard in the field.
Mirrlees and Vickrey shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Economics "for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information".
Mirrlees is also co-creator, with MIT Professor Peter A. Diamond
Peter A. Diamond
Peter Arthur Diamond is an American economist known for his analysis of U.S. Social Security policy and his work as an advisor to the Advisory Council on Social Security in the late 1980s and 1990s. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2010, along with Dale T. Mortensen...
of the Diamond-Mirrlees Efficiency Theorem, developed in 1971.
Mirrlees is emeritus Professor of Political Economy
Professor of Political Economy, Cambridge University
The Professorship of Political Economy is a professorship at the University of Cambridge, founded in 1828.-Professors of Political Economy:* George Pryme * Henry Fawcett * Alfred Marshall * Arthur Cecil Pigou...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He spends several months a year at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, Australia. He is currently the Distinguished Professor-at-Large of The Chinese University of Hong Kong as well as University of Macau
University of Macau
The University of Macau, ;, established in 1981, was the first and currently the largest university in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It was formerly known as University of East Asia , and was renamed the University of Macau in 1991. The university offers about 100 Doctoral, Master's and...
. In 2009, he was appointed Master of the Morningside College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, along with the biologist Samuel Sun Sai-ming.
Mirrlees is a member of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
's Council of Economic Advisers
Council of Economic Advisers (Scotland)
The Council of Economic Advisers is a group of economists and captains of industry who advise the Scottish Government. It was established in 2007, meeting for the first time on 21 September....
.
Publications
- "Payroll-tax financed social insurance with variable retirement" (with P. A. Diamond), Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 1986
- "Taxing Uncertain Incomes", Oxford Economic Papers, 1990
- "Project Appraisal and Planning Twenty Years On" (with I.M.D. Little), in Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1990 (eds. Stanley Fischer, Dennis de Tray and Shekhar Shah), 1991
- "Optimal Taxation of Identical Consumers when markets are incomplete" (with P.A. Diamond), in Economic Analysis of Markets and Games (ed. Dasgupta, Gale, Hart and Maskin), 1992
- "Optimal Taxation and Government Finance" in Modern Public Finance (eds. Quigley and Smolensky), 1994
- "Welfare Economics and Economies of Scale", Japanese Economic Review, 1995
- "Private Risk and Public Action: The Economies of the Welfare State", European Economic Review, 1995
External links
- James A. Mirrlees Autobiography and CV
- Biographic speech from The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- IDEAS/RePEc
- James Mirrlees interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 21st July 2009 (film)