Paul Klemperer
Encyclopedia
Paul David Klemperer, FBA, is an economist
and the Edgeworth Professor of Economics at Oxford University. He is a member of the prominent Klemperer family
Klemperer has an engineering
degree from Cambridge University, and an MBA and an economics PhD
from Stanford University
. He was elected John Thomson Fellow and Tutor of St Catherine's College, Oxford
in 1984, and a Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford
in 1995, when he became Edgeworth Professor in succession to Nobel prizewinner James Mirrlees
.
He works on industrial
economics, competition
policy, auction
theory, and climate change
economics and policy.
He was a Member of the UK Competition Commission
from 2001–5. He was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society
in 1994, a Fellow of the British Academy
in 1999, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2005.
" that is now commonly used in game theory, industrial organization and elsewhere.
His PhD thesis, and independent work by Carl Christian von Weizsacker, began the study of consumer switching costs.
His paper on supply function equilibria (with Margaret Meyer) developed a standard model for the analysis of privatized electricity markets, and has been important in developing the theory of multiunit auctions.
Many of his papers apply ideas from auction theory to other economic contexts, including finance and political economy.
He has also invented new auction designs, including the “Product Mix Auction” that is now in regular use by the Bank of England. This new auction for differentiated products has similarities to a simultaneous multiple-round auction, but runs instantaneously, is more robust against collusion, and allows sellers, as well as buyers, to specify how the quantities they trade will depend on the auction prices. His other innovations include the Anglo-Dutch auction, and Reference-Rule Pricing for package auctions.
' mobile-phone license auction that raised £22½ billion and was far more successful than several parallel exercises on the European continent; it has been argued that the UK Treasury therefore owes £15 billion or more to him and Ken Binmore who led the auction team.
In 2002, he advised the UK government on the world's first auction for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, working with Nobel prizewinner Eric Maskin
.
In 2007-2008, he advised the UK and US governments on the financial crisis, and he developed a new form of auction to help the Bank of England
alleviate the liquidity crisis; he subsequently advised other countries' Central Banks.
He advised the US Federal Trade Commission
1999-2001, was a Member of the UK Competition Commission
from 2001-5, and remains on its Panel of Economic Advisors.
He participated in the meeting that drafted the Potsdam Memorandum to the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference in Bali
; he is on the Environmental Economics Academic Panel to the UK’s Department of the Environment (Defra).
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and the Edgeworth Professor of Economics at Oxford University. He is a member of the prominent Klemperer family
Klemperer
Klemperer is a surname and may refer to the following people:* Members of the prominent German-Jewish family:** Otto Klemperer , a Jewish German-born conductor, composer, and father of Werner Klemperer...
Klemperer has an engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
degree from Cambridge University, and an MBA and an economics PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He was elected John Thomson Fellow and Tutor of St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
in 1984, and a Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
in 1995, when he became Edgeworth Professor in succession to Nobel prizewinner James Mirrlees
James Mirrlees
Sir James Alexander Mirrlees is a Scottish economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was knighted in 1998....
.
He works on industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
economics, competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
policy, auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
theory, and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
economics and policy.
He was a Member of the UK Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
from 2001–5. He was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society
Econometric Society
The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation with statistics and mathematics. It was founded on December 29, 1930 at the Stalton Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio....
in 1994, a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1999, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2005.
Academic contributions
His 1985 papers (with Jeremy Bulow and John Geanakoplos) developed the concept — and invented the terminology — of "strategic complementsStrategic complements
In economics and game theory, the decisions of two or more players are called strategic complements if they mutually reinforce one another, and they are called strategic substitutes if they mutually offset one another...
" that is now commonly used in game theory, industrial organization and elsewhere.
His PhD thesis, and independent work by Carl Christian von Weizsacker, began the study of consumer switching costs.
His paper on supply function equilibria (with Margaret Meyer) developed a standard model for the analysis of privatized electricity markets, and has been important in developing the theory of multiunit auctions.
Many of his papers apply ideas from auction theory to other economic contexts, including finance and political economy.
He has also invented new auction designs, including the “Product Mix Auction” that is now in regular use by the Bank of England. This new auction for differentiated products has similarities to a simultaneous multiple-round auction, but runs instantaneously, is more robust against collusion, and allows sellers, as well as buyers, to specify how the quantities they trade will depend on the auction prices. His other innovations include the Anglo-Dutch auction, and Reference-Rule Pricing for package auctions.
Public policy
He was principal auction-theorist designing the UK '3G3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
' mobile-phone license auction that raised £22½ billion and was far more successful than several parallel exercises on the European continent; it has been argued that the UK Treasury therefore owes £15 billion or more to him and Ken Binmore who led the auction team.
In 2002, he advised the UK government on the world's first auction for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, working with Nobel prizewinner Eric Maskin
Eric Maskin
Eric Stark Maskin is an American economist and Nobel laureate recognized with Leonid Hurwicz and Roger Myerson "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory." He is the Albert O...
.
In 2007-2008, he advised the UK and US governments on the financial crisis, and he developed a new form of auction to help the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
alleviate the liquidity crisis; he subsequently advised other countries' Central Banks.
He advised the US Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
1999-2001, was a Member of the UK Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
from 2001-5, and remains on its Panel of Economic Advisors.
He participated in the meeting that drafted the Potsdam Memorandum to the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
; he is on the Environmental Economics Academic Panel to the UK’s Department of the Environment (Defra).
Books
- Auctions: Theory and Practice, Princeton University PressPrinceton University Press-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
, Princeton, US, 2004. - The Economic Theory of Auctions (ed.), Edward ElgarEdward ElgarSir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
(pub.), Cheltenham, UK, 2000.
Selected articles
- “Multimarket Oligopoly: Strategic Substitutes and Complements”, Journal of Political Economy 1985, 93, 488 511 (with Bulow and Geanakoplos).
- “Dissolving a Partnership Efficiently”, Econometrica 1987, 55, 615 32 (with Cramton and Gibbons).
- “Markets with Consumer Switching Costs”, Quarterly Journal of Economics 1987, 102, 375 94 (reprinted in The Economics of Business Strategy, J. Kay (ed.) 2003).
- “Supply Function Equilibria in Oligopoly under Uncertainty”, Econometrica 1989, 57, 1243-77 (with Meyer).
- “Exchange Rate Pass Through when Market Share Matters”, American Economic Review 1989, 79, 637-54 (with Froot).
- “How Broad should the Scope of Patent Protection Be?”, Rand Journal of Economics 1990, 21, 113-30 (reprinted in The Economics of Intellectual Property, R. Towse and R. Holzhauer (eds.) 2002).
- “Competition when Consumers have Switching Costs”, Review of Economic Studies 1995, 62, 515-39.
- “Auctions vs. Negotiations”, American Economic Review 1996, 86, 180-94 (with Bulow).
- “Auctions with Almost Common Values”, European Economic Review 1998, 42, 757-69.
- “Prices and the Winner's Curse”, Rand Journal of Economics 2002, 33, 1-21 (with Bulow).
- “A New Payment Rule for Core-Selecting Package Auctions”, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2010 (with Erdil).
- “The Product-Mix Auction: a New Auction Design for Differentiated Goods”, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2010.
External links
- Personal website
- Interview with Paul Klemperer in Financial Engineering NewsFinancial Engineering NewsFinancial Engineering News was a bimonthly print and digital magazine publication of financial engineering-related news. A biweekly email newsletter Financial Engineering Today was also published. Financial Engineering News was established in late 1996 by Dr. Jim Clark, and published by...
, September/October 2004 - Assorted News articles concerning Paul Klemperer