Paul R. Milgrom
Paul R. Milgrom received the 2020 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
- Paul R. Milgrom [1]
- Full name
- Paul R. Milgrom [2]
- Birth date
- 1948-04-20 [2]
- Birthplace
- Detroit, MI, USA [2]
- Education
- Oak Park High School; University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Stanford University [3]
- Fields / occupation
- economist; university teacher; academic [3]
- Prize
- Economic Sciences · 2020 [2]
- Research recognized
- for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats [2]
- Prize share
- 1/2 [2]
- Affiliation at the award
- Stanford University [2]
- Institutions in career record
- Stanford University [3]
Research, education and career background
Paul Robert Milgrom (born April 20, 1948) is an American economist. He is the Shirley and Leonard Ely Professor of Humanities and Sciences at the Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences, a position he has held since 1987. He is a professor in the Stanford School of Engineering as well and a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Research. Milgrom is an expert in game theory, specifically auction theory and pricing strategies. He is the winner of the 2020 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, together with Robert B. Wilson, "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats". [4]
He is the co-creator of the no-trade theorem with Nancy Stokey. He is the co-founder of several companies, the most recent of which, Auctionomics, provides software and services for commercial auctions and exchanges. [4]
Milgrom and his thesis advisor Wilson designed the auction protocol the FCC uses to determine which phone company gets what cellular frequencies. Milgrom also led the team that designed the broadcast incentive auction between 2016 and 2017, which was a two-sided auction to reallocate radio frequencies from TV broadcast to wireless broadband uses. [4]
In 2024, Milgrom's firm, Auctionomics, won a technical Emmy Award for their contributions to spectrum auction design. [4]
Selected introductory text by Wikipedia contributors — Paul Milgrom, 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 2020 and lists Stanford University 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
Source-supported connections
Frequently asked questions
When did Paul R. Milgrom receive the prize in Economic Sciences?
The official award record gives the year as 2020. [2]
Which institution was Paul R. Milgrom affiliated with at the time of the Economic Sciences award?
Stanford University. This is the award-time affiliation. [2]
Paul R. Milgrom 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 — Paul Milgrom (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.