Lloyd Shapley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Shapley in 1980 | |
| Born | Lloyd Stowell Shapley (1923-06-02)June 2, 1923 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 12, 2016(2016-03-12) (aged 92) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) Princeton University (PhD) |
| Known for | Shapley value Shapley–Shubik power index stochastic games Bondareva–Shapley theorem Shapley–Folkman lemma& theorem Gale–Shapley algorithm potential game core, kernel, and nucleolus market games authority distribution multi-person utility non-atomic games |
| Spouse | Marian Louise Shapley (since 1955)[2] |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2012) Bronze Star Medal (1944)Golden Goose Award (2013) John von Neumann Theory Prize (1981) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics,economics |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles RAND Corporation Princeton University |
| Thesis | Additive and non-additive set functions (1953) |
| Doctoral advisor | Albert W. Tucker[1] |
| Website | www |
Lloyd Stowell Shapley (/ˈʃæpli/; June 2, 1923 – March 12, 2016) was an Americanmathematician andNobel Memorial Prize-winningeconomist. He contributed to the fields ofmathematical economics and especiallygame theory. Shapley is generally considered one of the most important contributors to the development of game theory since the work ofvon Neumann andMorgenstern.[3] WithAlvin E. Roth, Shapley won the 2012Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for the theory of stable allocations and the practice ofmarket design."[4][5]
Lloyd Shapley was born on June 2, 1923, inCambridge, Massachusetts, one of the sons of astronomersHarlow Shapley andMartha Betz Shapley, both from Missouri.[6] He attendedPhillips Exeter Academy and was a student at Harvard when he was drafted in 1943. He served in theUnited States Army Air Corps inChengdu, China and received theBronze Star decoration for breaking the Soviet weather code.[7]
After the war, Shapley returned to Harvard and graduated with anA.B. in mathematics in 1948. After working for one year at theRAND Corporation, he went toPrinceton University where he received a Ph.D. in 1953[8] based on the thesis "Additive and non-additive set functions".[1][9] His thesis and post-doctoral work introduced theShapley value and thecore solution ingame theory. Shapley defined game theory as "a mathematical study of conflict and cooperation." After graduating, he remained at Princeton for a short time before going back to the RAND corporation from 1954 to 1981. In 1950, while a graduate student, Shapley invented the board gameSo Long Sucker, along withMel Hausner,John Forbes Nash, andMartin Shubik.[10] Israeli economist and Nobel LaureateRobert Aumann considered Shapley to be "the greatest game theorist of all time."[11]
From 1981 until his death, Shapley was a professor at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), serving at the time of his death as a professor emeritus there, affiliated with the Mathematics and Economics departments. He died on March 12, 2016, inTucson, Arizona, after suffering from abroken hip, at the age of 92.[4]
Shapley was an expertKriegspiel player, and an avid baseball fan.[11]
Along with theShapley value,stochastic games, theBondareva–Shapley theorem (which implies thatconvex games have non-empty cores), theShapley–Shubik power index (forweighted or block voting power), theGale–Shapley algorithm for thestable marriage problem, the concept of apotential game (withDov Monderer), theAumann–Shapley pricing, theHarsanyi–Shapley solution, theSnow–Shapley theorem for matrix games, and theShapley–Folkman lemma & theorem bear his name.[12] According toThe Economist, Shapley "may have thought of himself as a mathematician, but he cannot avoid being remembered for his huge contributions to economics".[13] TheAmerican Economic Association noted that Shapley was "one of the giants of game theory and economic theory".[12]
Besides, his early work with R. N. Snow andSamuel Karlin onmatrix games was so complete that little has been added since. He has been instrumental in the development ofutility theory, and it was he who laid much of the groundwork for the solution of the problem of the existence ofVon Neumann–Morgenstern stable sets. His work withM. Maschler and B. Peleg on the kernel and the nucleolus, and his work withRobert Aumann on non-atomic games and on long-term competition have all appeared in economic theory.[14]
Shapley argued with his sons about whether he should accept the Nobel Prize at all. He opined that his father, the astronomerHarlow Shapley, deserved it more. His sons persuaded him to accept it and accompanied him toStockholm.[15]
Stable Marriage and Its Relation to Other Combinatorial Problems: An Introduction to the Mathematical Analysis of Algorithms, Donald E. Knuth, American Mathematical Society, 1997 (English Translation.)
including the Nobel Lecture| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by | Laureate of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics 2012 Served alongside:Alvin E. Roth | Succeeded by |
