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		Bengt Holmstrom awarded 2016 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Bengt Holmstrom, the Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics, has been awarded the 2016 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. He shares this honor with Oliver Hart of Harvard, for their deeply influential work on contract theory, including the optimal design of contracts between employers and employees. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in granting the award, notes that contracts "are essential to the functioning of modern societies," and states that the work of the two economists had been "invaluable in helping us understand real-life contracts and institutions, as well as the potential pitfalls when designing new contracts."

		Victor Chernozhukov elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Professor Victor Chernozhukov is among the 213 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected for 2016. They include some of the world's most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, and civic, business, and philanthropic leaders. One of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies, the American Academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to Academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, global security and international affairs, social policy and American institutions, and the humanities, arts, and education.

		Michael Whinston awarded 2016 Frisch Medal; named Distinguished Fellow of IO Society Sloan Fellows Professor of Economics Management Michael Whinston has been awarded the 2016 Frisch Medal (with B. Handel and I. Hendel) for the article, "Equilibria in Health Exchanges: Adverse Selection versus Reclassification Risk." (Econometrica, July 2015) The Frisch Medal is given every two years by the Econometric Society for an applied article (empirical or theoretical) published in Econometrica during the past five years. He was also named a Distinguished Fellow of the Industrial Organization Society. He joins previous MIT recipients Paul Joskow, Richard Schmalensee, and Jean Tirole. This award is given annually in recognition of excellence in Research, Education and Leadership in the field of Industrial Organization.

		Featured Research: How network effects hurt economies When large-scale economic struggles hit a region, a country, or even a continent, the explanations tend to be big in nature as well. Macroeconomists - who study large economic phenomena - often look for sweeping explanations of what has gone wrong, such as declines in productivity, consumer demand, or investor confidence, or significant changes in monetary policy. But what if large-scale economic slumps can be traced to declines in relatively narrow industrial sectors? A newly published study co-authored by Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, Daron Acemoglu provides evidence that economic problems may often have smaller points of origin and then spread as part of a network effect.

		Prominent MIT economist and dean Lester Thurow dies at 77 The influential MIT economist and public intellectual Lester Thurow, whose work addressed the many consequences of an increasingly global economy, died on Friday at his home in Westport, Massachusetts. Thurow, who also served as dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, was 77 years old.

		Featured Research: A lottery to lose As part of its recovery from Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed many schools in New Orleans, Louisiana undertook one of America's largest school-choice schemes. According to a new paper by Atila Abdulkadiroglu of Duke University, Parag Pathak of MIT and Christopher Walters of Berkeley, it has not gone well.

		E52 named in honor of Morris and Sophie Chang MIT will name its historic Building E52 in honor of Morris Chang '52, SM '53, ME '55 and Sophie Chang, who have made a generous gift to restore and renovate the building. The new E52 will provide a fitting headquarters for MIT's preeminent Department of Economics, and centralize and streamline the MIT Sloan's student and administrative services.

		Featured Research: Grow your own way Warming temperatures will take a heavy toll on agricultural productivity, according to climate scientists. How will society adjust? One possibility might be increased trade: If one country suffers a decline in, say, wheat production but can still grow as much rice as ever, then in theory it might grow more rice and trade for its usual amount of wheat instead. But a new study co-authored by Professor Arnaud Costinot suggests that international trade will do little to alleviate climate-induced farming problems. Instead, the report indicates that countries will have to alter their own patterns of crop production to lessen farming problems and even then, there will be significant net losses in production under the basic scenarios projected by climate scientists.

		George-Marios Angeletos elected Fellow of Econometric Society Professor George-Marios Angeletos is one of the 13 new Fellows elected to the Econometric Society in recognition for innovative and influential work. The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics.

		Honoring Rob Townsend's Legacy to Development Economics Elizabeth & James Killian Professor Robert M. Townsend was recently honored with a conference at the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago. The conference was organized by his former students, and it featured keynote speeches by his mentors Thomas J. Sargent (the Nobel Laureate from NYU) and Neil Wallace (Penn State).

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