Robert M. Townsend
Encyclopedia
Robert M. Townsend is an American
economist
and professor
, the Elizabeth and James Killian
Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. Prior to joining MIT, he was the Charles E. Merriam Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago
, where he remains a Research Professor.
in 1970 and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota
in 1975. He began teaching at Carnegie Mellon University
in 1975, and became a Professor at the University of Chicago
in 1985 where he stayed full time until moving to MIT in 2008. From 1987 to 1989 Townsend was also editor of the Journal of Political Economy
.
In addition to his professorships, Townsend is the Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Enterprise Initiative, funded by the John Templeton Foundation
, and the Principal Investigator of the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty
, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, he is a consultant for numerous institutions, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
, the World Bank
, and Banco de España
.
Townsend is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and of The Econometric Society
, which awarded him the Frisch Medal
in 1998 for his work on village India.
, costly state verification
, optimal multi-period contracts, decentralization of economies with private information, models of money with spatially separated agents, and forecasting the forecasts of others. His contributions in econometrics include the study of risk and insurance in developing countries.
Since 1997, Townsend's Thai Project has undertaken large scale village surveys in Thailand to analyze the interaction between household decisions and community behavior at the level of families, villages, regions, and the nation. The Townsend Thai study was the first of its kind and has been the stepping stone for many other applied and theoretical projects in economic development and contract theory.
Other papers and manuscripts
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist
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 professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, the Elizabeth and James Killian
James Rhyne Killian
Dr. James Rhyne Killian, Jr. was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959.-Career:...
Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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...
. Prior to joining MIT, he was the Charles E. Merriam Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he remains a Research Professor.
Biography
Townsend received his B.A. from Duke UniversityDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1970 and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1975. He began teaching at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in 1975, and became a Professor at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1985 where he stayed full time until moving to MIT in 2008. From 1987 to 1989 Townsend was also editor of the Journal of Political Economy
Journal of Political Economy
The Journal of Political Economy is an academic journal run by economists at the University of Chicago and published every two months by the University of Chicago Press. The journal publishes articles in both theoretical economics and empirical economics...
.
In addition to his professorships, Townsend is the Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Enterprise Initiative, funded by the John Templeton Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...
, and the Principal Investigator of the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty
Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty
The ' is a private economic research consortium dedicated to studying the interaction of financial systems and poverty, using a variety of economic approaches in a range of developing countries....
, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, he is a consultant for numerous institutions, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank....
, the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, and Banco de España
Banco de España
The Bank of Spain , is the national central bank of Spain. Established in Madrid in 1782 by Charles III, today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks.-History:...
.
Townsend is a fellow 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...
and 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....
, which awarded him the Frisch Medal
Frisch Medal
The Frisch Medal is an award in econometrics given by the Econometric Society. It is awarded every two years for empirical or theoretical applied research published in Econometrica during the previous five years...
in 1998 for his work on village India.
Research
Townsend began his work as a theorist in general equilibrium models and contract theory/mechanism design, but is known primarily for his work on revelation principleRevelation principle
The revelation principle of economics can be stated as, "To any Bayesian Nash equilibrium of a game of incomplete information, there exists a payoff-equivalent revelation mechanism that has an equilibrium where the players truthfully report their types."...
, costly state verification
Costly state verification
Costly State Verification approach in contract theory considers contract design problem in which verification of enterprise performance is costly and a lender has to pay a monitoring cost....
, optimal multi-period contracts, decentralization of economies with private information, models of money with spatially separated agents, and forecasting the forecasts of others. His contributions in econometrics include the study of risk and insurance in developing countries.
Since 1997, Townsend's Thai Project has undertaken large scale village surveys in Thailand to analyze the interaction between household decisions and community behavior at the level of families, villages, regions, and the nation. The Townsend Thai study was the first of its kind and has been the stepping stone for many other applied and theoretical projects in economic development and contract theory.
Books
- (with Krislert Samphantharak) Households as Corporate Firms: An Analysis of Household Finance Using Integrated Household Surveys and Corporate Financial Accounting (Cambridge University Press, 2010). ISBN 0-52-119582-9.
- Financial Systems in Developing Economies: Growth, Inequality, Poverty and Policy Evaluation in Thailand (Oxford University Press, 2008). ISBN 0-19-953323-7.
- The Medieval Village Economy:A Study of the Pareto Mapping in General Equilibrium Models (Princeton University Press, 1993). ISBN 0-691-04270-5.
- Financial Structure and Economic Organization: Key Elements and Patterns in Theory and History (Basil Blackwell, 1990). ISBN 1-55786-039-4.
Other papers and manuscripts