Michael Spence

The Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean, Emeritus at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Senior Professor of Economics at SDA Bocconi School of Management

Schools

  • SDA Bocconi School of Management
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business

Expertise

Links

Biography

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Research Statement

A. Michael Spence’s research interests focus on the study of economic growth and development, dynamic competition and the economics of information.

Bio

A. Michael Spence is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean, Emeritus, at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. He is the chairman of an independent Commission on Growth and Development, created in 2006 and focused on growth and poverty reduction in developing countries.

In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to the analysis of markets with asymmetric information. He received the John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association awarded to economists under 40. He is currently the chairman of an independent Commission on Growth and Development.

He served as Philip H. Knight Professor and dean of the Stanford Business School from 1990 to 1999. As dean, he oversaw the finances, organization, and educational policies of the school. He taught at Stanford as an associate professor of economics from 1973 to 1975.

From 1975 to 1990, he served as professor of economics and business administration at Harvard University, holding a joint appointment in its Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In l983, he was named chairman of the Economics Department and George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration. Spence was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith Prize for excellence in teaching in 1978 and the John Bates Clark Medal in 1981 for a “significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.”

From 1984 to 1990, Spence served as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, overseeing Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Continuing Education.

From 1977 to 1979, he was a member of the Economics Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation and in 1979 served as a member of the Sloan Foundation Economics Advisory Committee. At various times, he has served as a member of the editorial boards of American Economics Review, Bell Journal of Economics, Journal of Economic Theory, and P_ublic Policy_.

Among his many honors, Spence was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1983 and was awarded the David A. Wells Prize for outstanding doctoral dissertation at Harvard University in 1972.

He has served as member of the boards of directors of General Mills, Siebel Systems, Nike, and Exult, and a number of private companies. From 1991 to 1997, he was chairman of the National Research Council Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy.

He is a member of the American Economic Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Harvard University, 1972
  • BA/MA, Oxford University, 1968
  • BA (summa cum laude), Princeton University, 1966

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 1990. Emeritus since 2000
  • Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean of Stanford GSB, 1990-1999
  • Professor of Economics and Business Administration, Harvard University, 1975-1990
  • Associate Professor of Economics, Stanford University, 1973-1975
  • Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, 1984-1990

Awards and Honors

  • Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2001
  • John Bates Clark Medal for Contributions to Economic Research, American Economic Association, 1981
  • J. K. Galbraith Prize for Excellence in Teaching, 1978
  • David A. Wells Prize for outstanding doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, 1972
  • Danforth Fellow, 1966
  • Rhodes Scholar, 1966

In the Media

The Trust Gap

Project Syndicate, September 22, 2012

Writing for Project Syndicate, the Stanford GSB's David Brady and Dean Emeritus Michael Spence examine why governments are struggling to take bold action on the global economy.

Interview with Nobel Winner Michael Spence

National Public Radio, December 14, 2011

An Interview with Mike Spence: The Network Economy Needs a Framework of Global Governance

Les Echos, January 2003

Internet Promises a Truly Global Economy

Toronto Star, November 30, 2002

Canada's Nobel Winner Still Dreams of Internet Riches

Salt Spring News, November 14, 2001

The 2001 Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

The Nobel Foundation Press, November 10, 2001

Nobel Prize's Canadian Connection

The Toronto Star, January 2001

Stanford Business School's Spence Wins Nobel Prize for Economics

Business Wire, January 2001

Pensare Taps Leading Stanford Professors for Development of eCommerce Online Learning Program

PR Newswire, October 18, 2000

Former Dean of Stanford Business School A. Michael Spence Joins Intersurvey Board of Directors

PR Newswire, January 2000

Le Miracle Economique Atteindra-t-il la Suisse?

Tribune de Geneve, January 1998

Silicon Valley: The Valley of Money's Delight

The Economist, April 27, 1997

Insights by Stanford Business

writtenMichael Spence: China’s Rising Middle

May 8, 2014

An expert on developing economies explains how a slowing Chinese economy could be good for China — and for the rest of us.

writtenA Dialogue: What Europe Taught Us About Boundaries

October 17, 2013

Market reactions to eurozone unification led to divergent labor productivity rates.

writtenMichael Spence: Ongoing Growth Needs Global Financial Regulation

April 1, 2010

The economist says the resilience of developing nations during the world economic crisis is encouraging, but long-term growth needs a global strategy.

writtenReshaping Industries with Internet Supply Chains

August 1, 2001

In an excerpt from their book, Garth Saloner and Michael Spence explore the ways managers can use technological innovations to add value.

SDA Bocconi School of Management

Michael Spence is Senior Professor of Economics at Università Bocconi and SDA Bocconi School of Management.

He is also a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and the Philip H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Management in the Graduate School of Business. Spence is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance. Additionally, Spence is also a member of the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council.

His research activity is focused on job-market signaling model, which inspired research into this branch of contract theory.

Spence attended Princeton University as an undergraduate student and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy in 1966, completing a senior thesis titled "Freedom and Determinism". Spence then studied at Magdalen College, University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and received a B.A./M.A. in mathematics in 1968. Spence then began graduate studies in economics at Harvard University with the support of a Danforth Graduate Fellowship in the fall of 1968. He received a Ph.D. in economics in 1972, completing a dissertation titled "Market signalling" under the supervision of Kenneth Arrow and Thomas C. Schelling.

He is the author of three books and 50 articles, and has also been a consistent contributor to Project Syndicate, an international newspaper syndicate, since 2008. Spence was awarded the David A. Wells Prize for outstanding doctoral dissertation in 1972. Together with George A. Akerlof and Joseph E. Stiglitz, Spence is a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, "for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information."

Teaching domains

  • Macroeconomics
  • International Economy

Academic Background

Ph.D., 1972
Harvard University

B.A./M.A., 1968
Oxford University

B.A., 1966
Princeton University

Videos

Read about executive education

Cases

BabyCenter | EC11 Tyee Harpster, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence, Meredith Unruh2000

Disintermediation in the U.S. Auto Industry | EC10 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

E-Commerce Building Blocks | EC6 Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence, Christopher Thomas, Elizabeth Urban2000

Gap.com | EC9A Katherine McIntyre, Ezra Perlman, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Karen Brown | EC12 Kasey Craig, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

NIKE - Channel Conflict | EC9B Katherine McIntyre, Ezra Perlman, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Pricing and Branding on the Internet | EC8 Garth Saloner, Kostas Sgoutas, A. Michael Spence2000

QRS Corporation | EC2 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

SAP and the Online Procurement Market | EC5 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Tradeweave | EC14 Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Siebel Systems, Inc. | EC1 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Micheal Spence1999

Cisco Systems: A Novel Approach to Structuring Entrepreneurial Ventures | EC15 Garth Saloner, A Michael Spence, James McJunkin, Todd Reynders1997

BabyCenter | EC11 Tyee Harpster, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence, Meredith Unruh2000

Disintermediation in the U.S. Auto Industry | EC10 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

E-Commerce Building Blocks | EC6 Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence, Christopher Thomas, Elizabeth Urban2000

Gap.com | EC9A Katherine McIntyre, Ezra Perlman, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Karen Brown | EC12 Kasey Craig, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

NIKE - Channel Conflict | EC9B Katherine McIntyre, Ezra Perlman, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Pricing and Branding on the Internet | EC8 Garth Saloner, Kostas Sgoutas, A. Michael Spence2000

QRS Corporation | EC2 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

SAP and the Online Procurement Market | EC5 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Tradeweave | EC14 Garth Saloner, A. Michael Spence2000

Siebel Systems, Inc. | EC1 Eric Marti, Garth Saloner, A. Micheal Spence1999

Cisco Systems: A Novel Approach to Structuring Entrepreneurial Ventures | EC15 Garth Saloner, A Michael Spence, James McJunkin, Todd Reynders1997

Other experts

Margaret Laws

Academic Degrees MPP, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 1993 AB, English Literature, Princeton University Academic Appointments Lecturer, Stanford GSB, 2016-present Professional Experience President & CEO, HopeLab, 2015-present Director, Innovations for the Underserved a...

Blanckaert Christian

Biography Christian BLANCKAERT is an affiliate Professor of Law at ESCP Europe Paris campus. He graduated from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, and from the Faculty of Law of Paris. Whilst studying political science, Christian Blanckaert went on a short exchange to Berkeley University i...

Christian Seelos

Christian Seelos is a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS) at Stanford University and the Leo Tindemans Chair of Business Model Innovation at KU Leuven. Previously, he was an Adjunct Professor for Strategy and Sustainability in the Strategic Management ...

Looking for an expert?

Contact us and we'll find the best option for you.

Something went wrong. We're trying to fix this error.