James A. Mirrlees
James A. Mirrlees received the 1996 prize in Economic Sciences. This profile brings together the official award record and attributed background on the economist’s work and career.
Personal and professional profile
- Name
- James A. Mirrlees [1]
- Full name
- James A. Mirrlees [2]
- Birth date
- 1936-07-05 [2]
- Birthplace
- Minnigaff, Scotland [2]
- Education
- Douglas Ewart High School; University of Cambridge; Trinity College; University of Edinburgh [3]
- Fields / occupation
- economist; university teacher [3]
- Prize
- Economic Sciences · 1996 [2]
- Research recognized
- for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information [2]
- Prize share
- 1/2 [2]
- Affiliation at the award
- University of Cambridge [2]
- Death date
- 2018-08-29 [2]
- Institutions in career record
- University of California, Berkeley (1986–1986); Yale University (1989–1989); Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Cambridge (1963–1968); University of Oxford (1968–1995); University of Cambridge (1995–end not recorded) [3]
Research, education and career background
Sir James Alexander Mirrlees (5 July 1936 – 29 August 2018) was a British economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was knighted in the 1997 Birthday Honours. [4]
Selected introductory text by Wikipedia contributors — James Mirrlees, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Official facts are cited separately.
Award and academic affiliation
The official Nobel record dates the Economic Sciences award to 1996 and lists University of Cambridge as the affiliation at the time. [2]
An affiliation attached to an award describes that point in the person’s career; it does not establish a current appointment. [2]
Education and career timeline
Birth date recorded in the official Nobel biography. [2]
Education period at University of Edinburgh ended (background record). [3]
Education period at Trinity College ended (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of Cambridge began (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of Cambridge ended (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of Oxford began (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of California, Berkeley began (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of California, Berkeley ended (background record). [3]
Affiliation at Yale University began (background record). [3]
Affiliation at Yale University ended (background record). [3]
Affiliation at University of Oxford ended (background record). [3]
Economic Sciences award announced. [2]
Death date recorded in the official Nobel biography. [2]
Source-supported connections
Frequently asked questions
When did James A. Mirrlees receive the prize in Economic Sciences?
The official award record gives the year as 1996. [2]
Which institution was James A. Mirrlees affiliated with at the time of the Economic Sciences award?
University of Cambridge. This is the award-time affiliation. [2]
James A. Mirrlees connection map
Select a node to inspect the relationship and source.
Links retain their source-specific meaning. Award-time affiliations and links to related reading are not claims about current appointments or economic causation.
Sources and review dates
- Nobel Prize — official biography and award record ↗
- Nobel Prize — official biography and award record ↗
- Wikidata background facts (CC0) ↗
- Wikipedia contributors — James Mirrlees (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗
Reviewed 23 October 2026. Historical dates and award-time affiliations retain their original context. A review date is not an event date. Background sources are identified separately from official records.