David K. Levine | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Knudsen Levine c. 1955 (age 69–70) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA,MA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Academic career | |
| Field | Game theory,General equilibrium Theory |
| Institution | University of California, Los Angeles Washington University in St. Louis European University Institute Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Doctoral advisor | Peter Diamond[1] |
| Doctoral students | Guido Tabellini |
| Contributions | Learning in games,Folk theorem |
| Information atIDEAS / RePEc | |
David Knudsen Levine (born c. 1955) is an American economist. He is the Leverhulme International Professor of Economics atRoyal Holloway, University of London; Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Study Joint Chair at theEuropean University Institute; and the John H. Biggs Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus atWashington University in St. Louis. He previously taught atUCLA where he held theArmen Alchian Chair in Economic Theory and twice served as Chair of the Department.[2] His research includes the study ofintellectual property and endogenous growth in dynamic general equilibrium models, the endogenous formation of preferences, socialnorms and institutions, learning in games, andgame theory applications toexperimental economics.
AtUCLA, Levine obtained aB.A. inmathematics in 1977, and anM.A. in economics in the same year. He was awarded aPh.D. in economics atMIT in June 1981. He became anassistant professor of economics at UCLA in July 1981, an associate professor of economics at theUniversity of Minnesota in 1987, and a professor of economics at UCLA in the same year. In 1997 he became theArmen Alchian Professor of Economics at UCLA. In 2006, he moved to Washington University in St. Louis, where he became the John H. Biggs Distinguished Professor of Economics. In 2023, he became theLeverhulme International Professor of Economics atRoyal Holloway, University of London.[3]
Levine was the coeditor of theReview of Economic Dynamics from November 1996 to June 2001, and ofEconometrica from July 2003 to June 2008. He presided theSociety for Economic Dynamics from July 2006 to June 2009.
Levine is a Fellow of theEconometric Society since 1989 and a research associate atNBER since 2006.
David K. Levine conducts ongoing research ingeneral equilibrium theory, focusing specifically on growth theory, innovation, and intellectual property. Collaborating withMichele Boldrin, Levine examines the role of increasing returns in growth and innovation. They posit that little evidence exists for increasing returns at the aggregate level, and thus argue that there is no reason to believe that increasing returns play an important role in growth. This theory concludes that existing claims for the necessity of intellectual property in the process of growth and innovation are greatly exaggerated.
Levine also conducts research in the field of dynamic games. He established withDrew Fudenberg that a long-lived player playing in opposition to short-lived players can substitute reputation for commitment. He developed withEric Maskin the first "folk theorem" for games in which players do not directly observe each other's decisions, with applications for learning in games. They argued that while learning theories cannot provide detailed descriptions of non-equilibrium behavior, they act as a useful tool in understanding which equilibria are likely to emerge. One example of this, they put forward, explains how superstitions survive in the face of rational learning.
Levine currently studies the endogenous formation of preferences and social norms. His analysis of experimental anomalies explores some of the limitations of the standard economic model of self-interested individuals.
