Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Robert Shiller Speaks at Pardee RAND

Pardee RAND welcomed American Nobel laureate and economist Robert “Bob” Shiller as part of the Charles Wolf, Jr., Endowed Lecture Series. Shiller was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, together with Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen of the University of Chicago, for their empirical analysis of asset prices.

An economist, academic, and author of the New York Times bestseller Irrational Exuberance, Shiller has written on financial markets, financial innovation, behavioral economics, macroeconomics, real estate, statistical methods, and public attitudes, opinions, and moral judgments regarding markets. His latest book, Phishing for Phools; The Economics of Manipulation and Deception, written with another Nobel laureate, George Akerlof, challenges standard economic theory by arguing that "competitive markets by their very nature spawn deception and trickery, as a result of the same profit motives that give us our prosperity."

Shiller's audience comprised approximately 60 students, plus 60 faculty, staff, and researchers. Students in attendance received autographed copies of his book. Wolf and Shiller later joined a small group of students and faculty for an intimate lunch to continue the conversation. Wolf was a guest of honor during the lunch and student talk.

Earlier in the morning a small group of Pardee RAND Board of Governors, Dean’s Leadership Circle members and RAND stakeholders attended a breakfast gathering for an off the record conversation where Shiller shared his views on the current stock market and Federal Reserve decisions regarding interest rates in addition to discussing his just-published book.

Charles Wolf, Jr., Endowed Lecture Series

The Charles Wolf, Jr., Endowed Lecture Series was established by Pardee RAND alumni and other funders with the intent to honor the school’s founding dean, and current faculty member, by bringing renowned economists and speakers to the school to address important and timely policy issues. Dr. Wolf helped form Pardee RAND into the esteemed institution it is today, building its reputation and that of RAND itself through his prominence as a wise strategist to leaders in business, academia, and public policy.