Professor Rob Townsend is among the 84 new members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Other new members include MIT Institute Professor Barbara Liskov, Susan Athey of Harvard, and Jagdis Bhagwati of Columbia.

Professors Glenn Ellison and Sara Fisher Ellison win the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics prize for Best Paper for their study titled, "Strategic Entry Deterrence and the Behavior of Pharmaceutical Incumbents Prior to Patent Expiration." This paper develops a new approach to testing for strategic entry deterrence and applies it to the behavior of pharmaceutical incumbents before patent expiration. It examines a cross section of markets, determining whether behavior is nonmonotonic in market size.

Professor Amy Finkelstein MIT PhD '01, a leading scholar in Health Economics, was named winner of the John Bates Clark Medal. Finkelstein is the third woman to be given the award, which ranks below only the Nobel Prize in prestige within the economics profession and is considered a strong predictor of future Nobel consideration. MIT faculty members who have won the Clark Medal include: Esther Duflo (2010), Daron Acemoglu (2005), Jerry A. Hausman (1985), Franklin M. Fisher (1973), Robert M. Solow (1961), and Paul A. Samuelson (1947).

Professor Heidi Williams was awarded a NSF CAREER Award for her work on Innovation in Health Care Markets. This is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

Professor David Autor is among the 220 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected for 2012. Fellow inductees include colleague, Amy Finkelstein and MIT Ph.D. Luigi Zingales.

Professor Daron Acemoglu is recognized for answering big questions, such as why nations fail, and taking on issues of global poverty. The Nemmers prizes are given in recognition of major contributions to new knowledge or the development of significant new modes of analysis.

In his new book, Daron Acemoglu asserts that above all else, political institutions, not culture or natural resources, determine the wealth of nations. Nations fail when institutions are "extractive," protecting the political and economic power of only a small elite that takes income from everyone else.

A new study co-authored by Robert Townsend reveals a wide variance in results from Thai Million Baht Village Fund. The study suggests that large-scale microfinance programs can have varying results for participants and may be the most cost-effective use of funds only in limited situations. This paper was also co-authored by Joseph P. Kaboski of the University of Notre Dame.

Nancy Rose has been named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT's highest honor for undergraduate teaching.

Bengt Holmstrom has been awarded the 2011 Senior Banque de France-TSE Prize in Monetary Economics and Finance for his analysis of liquidity under asymmetric information.

MIT Economist David Autor shows that the rapid rise in low-wage manufacturing industries overseas has indeed had a significant impact on the United States. The disappearance of U.S. manufacturing jobs frequently leaves former manufacturing workers unemployed for years, if not permanently, while creating a drag on local economies and raising the amount of taxpayer-borne social insurance necessary to keep workers and their families afloat.

Professor Amy Finkelstein is among the 220 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected for 2012. Fellow inductees include colleague, David Autor and MIT Ph.D. Luigi Zingales.