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Susan Athey, PhD '95, Receives John Bates Clark Medal
May 2007
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—Economist Susan Athey, PhD '95, has been named as this year's recipient of the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, a biennial award recognizing the contributions of economists under 40.
She is the first woman to receive the 60-year-old award, considered a predictor of future consideration for the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Athey, 36, who is currently a professor of economics at Harvard University, has done extensive research on applied economic theory, empirical economics, and econometrics. She is known for her work analyzing auctions and the role of private information on timber auctions.
"Susan sees mathematical structure and brings order where complexity has reigned," said Joshua Gans, professor of management at the Melbourne Business School who was a graduate student at Stanford in the 1990s when Athey was at the Stanford Business School. "This is not an uncommon contribution of the best scientists, but precious few have this ability in economics. And it is that quality that will make her work stand the test of time."
John Roberts, the John H. Scully professor of economics at the School, praised Athey's versatility and her commitment to excellence.
"I don't know anybody else who can do statistics and mathematics and economic theory and empirical economics and do them all at the very, very highest levels," he told Bloomberg News.
Athey is also the co-editor of the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics published by the American Economic Association, and she serves on the editorial boards of other major journals.
The award is presented by the American Economic Association, established in 1885 and the oldest professional organization of economists in the United States. Named after the American economist John Bates Clark, the medal was first awarded in 1947. Other Business School faculty members who hold the honor are David Kreps, Theodore J. Kreps Professor of Economics; and A. Michael Spence, Philip H. Knight Professor, Emeritus, and former dean of the School.
