Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T15:04:06.494Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT AUMANN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2005

Sergiu Hart
Sergiu Hart
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Who is Robert Aumann? Is he an economist or a mathematician? A rational scientist or a deeply religious man? A deep thinker or an easygoing person?

These seemingly disparate qualities can all be found in Aumann; all are essential facets of his personality. A pure mathematician who is a renowned economist, he has been a central figure in developing game theory and establishing its key role in modern economics. He has shaped the field through his fundamental and pioneering work, work that is conceptually profound, and much of it also mathematically deep. He has greatly influenced and inspired many people: his students, collaborators, colleagues, and anyone who has been excited by reading his papers or listening to his talks.

Aumann promotes a unified view of rational behavior, in many different disciplines: chiefly economics, but also political science, biology, computer science, and more. He has broken new ground in many areas, the most notable being perfect competition, repeated games, correlated equilibrium, interactive knowledge and rationality, and coalitions and cooperation.

But Aumann is not just a theoretical scholar, closed in his ivory tower. He is interested in real-life phenomena and issues, to which he applies insights from his research. He is a devoutly religious man; and he is one of the founding fathers—and a central and most active member—of the multidisciplinary Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Aumann enjoys skiing, mountain climbing, and cooking—no less than working out a complex economic question or proving a deep theorem. He is a family man, a very warm and gracious person—of an extremely subtle and sharp mind.

This interview catches a few glimpses of Robert Aumann's fascinating world. It was held in Jerusalem on three consecutive days in September 2004. I hope the reader will learn from it and enjoy it as much as we two did.

Type
MD INTERVIEW
Information
Macroeconomic Dynamics , Volume 9 , Issue 5 , November 2005 , pp. 683 - 740
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1956 Asphericity of alternating knots. Annals of Mathematics 64 374– 392.
1958 The coefficients in an allocation problem, with Joseph B. Kruskal. Naval Research Logistics Quarterly 5 111– 123.
1959 Assigning quantitative values to qualitative factors in the naval electronics problem, with Joseph B. Kruskal. Naval Research Logistics Quarterly 6 1– 16.
1959 Acceptable points in general cooperative n-person games. In A.W. Tucker and R.D. Luce (eds.), Contributions to the Theory of Games IV, Annals of Mathematics Study 40, pp. 287– 324. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
1960 Von Neumann–Morgenstern solutions to cooperative games without side payments, with Bezalel Peleg. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society 66 173– 179.
1960 Acceptable points in games of perfect information. Pacific Journal of Mathematics 10 381– 417.
1960 A characterization of game structures of perfect information. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel 9F 43– 44.
1960 Spaces of measurable transformations. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society 66 301– 304.
1960 Linearity of unrestrictedly transferable utilities. Naval Research Logistics Quarterly 7 281– 284.
1961 The core of a cooperative game without side payments. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 98 539– 552.
1961 Borel structures for function spaces. Illinois Journal of Mathematics 5 614– 630.
1961 Almost strictly competitive games. Journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 9 544– 550.
1962 (a) Utility theory without the completeness axiom. Econometrica 30 445– 462. (b) Utility theory without the completeness axiom: a correction. Econometrica 32 (1964), 210–212.
1963 A definition of subjective probability, with Frank J. Anscombe. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 34 199– 205.
1963 On choosing a function at random. In F.W. Wright (ed.), Ergodic Theory, pp. 1– 20. New Orleans, LA: Academic Press
1964 Markets with a continuum of traders. Econometrica 32 39– 50.
1964 The bargaining set for cooperative games, with Michael Maschler. In M. Dresher, L.S. Shapley, and A.W. Tucker (eds.), Advances in Game Theory, Annals of Mathematics Study 52, pp. 443– 476. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
1964 Mixed and behavior strategies in infinite extensive games. In M. Dresher, L.S. Shapley, and A.W. Tucker (eds.), Advances in Game Theory, Annals of Mathematics Study 52, pp. 627– 650. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
1964 Subjective programming. In M.W. Shelly and G.I. Bryan (eds.), Human Judgments and Optimality, pp. 217– 242. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons
1965 A variational problem arising in economics, with Micha Perles. Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications 11 488– 503.
1965 Integrals of set-valued functions. Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications 12 1– 12.
1965 A method of computing the kernel of n-person games, with Bezalel Peleg and Pinchas Rabinowitz. Mathematics of Computation 19 531– 551.
1966 Existence of competitive equilibria in markets with a continuum of traders. Econometrica 34 1– 17.
1967 A survey of cooperative games without side payments. In M. Shubik (ed.), Essays in Mathematical Economics in Honor of Oskar Morgenstern, pp. 3– 27. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
1967 Random measure preserving transformations. In L.M. LeCam and J. Neyman (eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Vol. II, Part 2, pp. 321– 326. Berkeley: University of California Press
1969 Measurable utility and the measurable choice theorem. In La Decision, pp. 15– 26. Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
1972 Some thoughts on the minimax principle, with Michael Maschler. Management Science 18 P-54– P-63.
1973 Disadvantageous monopolies. Journal of Economic Theory 6 1– 11.
1974 Subjectivity and correlation in randomized strategies. Journal of Mathematical Economics 1 67– 96.
1974 A note on Gale's example, with Bezalel Peleg. Journal of Mathematical Economics 1 209– 211.
1975 Cooperative games with coalition structures, with Jacques Drèze. International Journal of Game Theory 4 217– 237.
1975 Values of markets with a continuum of traders. Econometrica 43 611– 646.
1976 An elementary proof that integration preserves uppersemicontinuity. Journal of Mathematical Economics 3 15– 18.
1976 Agreeing to disagree. Annals of Statistics 4 1236– 1239.
1977 Orderable set functions and continuity III: orderability and absolute continuity, with Uri Rothblum. SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization 15 156– 162.
1977 The St. Petersburg paradox: a discussion of some recent comments. Journal of Economic Theory 14 443– 445.
1977 Power and taxes, with Mordecai Kurz. Econometrica 45 1137– 1161.
1977 Power and taxes in a multi-commodity economy, with Mordecai Kurz. Israel Journal of Mathematics 27 185– 234.
1977 Core and value for a public goods economy: an example, with Roy J. Gardner and Robert W. Rosenthal. Journal of Economic Theory 15 363– 365.
1979 On the rate of convergence of the core. International Economic Review 19 349– 357.
1980 Recent developments in the theory of the Shapley value. In O. Lehto (ed.), Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Helsinki, 1978, pp. 995– 1003. Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica
1981 Survey of repeated games. In V. Böhm (ed.), Essays in Game Theory and Mathematical Economics in Honor of Oskar Morgenstern, Vol. 4 of Gesellschaft, Recht, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaftsverlag, pp. 11– 42. Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut
1983 Approximate purification of mixed strategies, with Yitzhak Katznelson, Roy Radner, Robert W. Rosenthal, and Benjamin Weiss. Mathematics of Operations Research 8 327– 341.
1983 Voting for public goods, with Mordecai Kurz and Abraham Neyman. Review of Economic Studies 50 677– 694.
1985 An axiomatization of the non-transferable utility value. Econometrica 53 599– 612.
1985 Game-theoretic analysis of a bankruptcy problem from the Talmud, with Michael Maschler. Journal of Economic Theory 36 195– 213.
1985 What Is game theory trying to accomplish? In K. Arrow and S. Honkapohja (eds.), Frontiers of Economics, pp. 28– 76. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
1985 On the non-transferable utility value: a comment on the Roth–Shafer Examples. Econometrica 53 667– 677.
1986 Rejoinder. Econometrica 54 985– 989.
1986 Bi-convexity and bi-martingales, with Sergiu Hart. Israel Journal of Mathematics 54 159– 180.
1986 Values of markets with satiation or fixed prices, with Jacques Drèze. Econometrica 54 1271– 1318.
1987 Power and public goods, with Modecai Kurz and Abraham Neyman. Journal of Economic Theory 42 108– 127.
1987 Correlated equilibrium as an expression of Bayesian rationality. Econometrica 55 1– 18.
1987 Value, symmetry, and equal treatment: a comment on Scafuri and Yannelis. Econometrica 55 1461– 1464.
1987 Game theory. In J. Eatwell, M. Milgate, and P. Newman (eds.), The New Palgrave, A Dictionary of Economics, Vol. 2, pp. 460– 482. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan
1988 Endogenous formation of links between players and of coalitions: an application of the Shapley value, with Roger Myerson. In A.E. Roth (ed.), The Shapley Value: Essays in Honor of Lloyd S. Shapley, pp. 175– 191. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
1989 Cooperation and bounded recall, with Sylvain Sorin. Games and Economic Behavior 1 5– 39.
1989 CORE as a macrocosm of game-theoretic research, 1967–1987. In B. Cornet and H. Tulkens (eds.), Contributions to Operations Research and Economics: The Twentieth Anniversary of CORE, pp. 5– 16. Cambridge and London: The MIT Press
1990 Nash equilibria are not self-enforcing. In J.J. Gabszewicz, J.-F. Richard, and L. Wolsey (eds.), Economic Decision Making: Games, Econometrics and Optimisation (Essays in Honor of Jacques Drèze), pp. 201– 206. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers
1992 Irrationality in game theory. In P. Dasgupta, D. Gale, O. Hart, and E. Maskin (eds.), Economic Analysis of Markets and Games (Essays in Honor of Frank Hahn), pp. 214– 227. Cambridge and London: MIT Press
1994 Long-term competition: a game-theoretic analysis, with Lloyd S. Shapley. In N. Megiddo (ed.), Essays in Game Theory in Honor of Michael Maschler, pp. 1– 15. New York: Springer
1994 The Shapley value. In J.-F. Mertens and S. Sorin (eds.), Game-Theoretic Methods in General Equilibrium Analysis, pp. 61– 66. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers
1994 Economic applications of the Shapley value. In J.-F. Mertens and S. Sorin (eds.), Game-Theoretic Methods in General Equilibrium Analysis, pp. 121– 133. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers
1995 Backward induction and common knowledge of rationality. Games and Economic Behavior 8 6– 19.
1995 Epistemic conditions for Nash equilibrium, with Adam Brandenburger. Econometrica 63 1161– 1180.
1996 Reply to Binmore. Games and Economic Behavior 17 138– 146.
1996 Reply to Margalit and Yaari. In K.J. Arrow, E. Colombatto, M. Perlman, and C. Schmidt (eds.), The Rational Foundations of Economic Equilibrium, pp. 106– 107. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan
1996 Reply to Binmore and Samuelson. In K.J. Arrow, E. Colombatto, M. Perlman, and C. Schmidt (eds.), The Rational Foundations of Economic Equilibrium, pp. 130– 131. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan
1997 The absent-minded driver, with Sergiu Hart and Motty Perry. Games and Economic Behavior 20 102– 116.
1997 The forgetful passenger, with Sergiu Hart and Motty Perry. Games and Economic Behavior 20 117– 120.
1997 Rationality and bounded rationality. Games and Economic Behavior 21 2– 14.
1998 On the centipede game. Games and Economic Behavior 23 97– 105.
1998 Common priors: a reply to Gul. Econometrica 66 929– 938.
1999 Interactive epistemology I: knowledge. International Journal of Game Theory 28 263– 300.
1999 Interactive epistemology II: probability. International Journal of Game Theory 28 301– 314.
2000 Species survival and evolutionary stability in sustainable habitats, with Werner Güth. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 10 437– 447.
2001 The rationale for measurability. In G. Debreu, W. Neuefeind, and W. Trockel, Economics Essays, A Festschrift for Werner Hildenbrand, pp. 5– 7. Berlin: Springer
2001 Harsanyi's sweater. Games and Economic Behavior 36 7– 8.
2002 Incomplete information, with Aviad Heifetz. In R.J. Aumann and S. Hart (eds.), Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications, Vol. 3, pp. 1665– 1686. Amsterdam: Elsevier
2003 Risk aversion in the Talmud. Economic Theory 21 233– 239.
2003 Presidential address. Games and Economic Behavior 45 2– 14.
2003 Long cheap talk, with Sergiu Hart. Econometrica 71 1619– 1660.

OTHER

1987 Letter to Leonard Savage, 8 January 1971. In J.H. Drèze, Essays on Economic Decisions under Uncertainty, pp. 76– 78. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
1998 On the state of the art in game theory, an interview. W. Albers, W. Güth, P. Hammerstein, B. Moldovanu, and E. van Damme (eds.), Understanding Strategic Interaction (Essays in Honor of Reinhard Selten). Berlin: Springer, 1997, pp. 8– 34. Reprinted in Games and Economic Behavior 24 181– 210.