David M. Kreps

David M. Kreps
Professor Emeritus, Economics
Contact Info
DavidM.Kreps
Academic Area: 
Economics

Research Statement

David Kreps is an economic theorist of international reputation whose path-breaking work concerns dynamic choice behavior and economic contexts in which dynamic choices are key. He has contributed to the literatures of axiomatic choice theory, financial markets, dynamic games, bounded rationality, and human resource management.

Research Interests

  • Dynamic choice
  • Human resource management
  • Behavioral economics

Bio

David Kreps joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Business in 1975, after completing a PhD in Operations Research in the Stanford School of Engineering. He has been a full professor since 1980, and today is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus. From 2000 to 2009, he served as Senior Associate Dean.

Professor Kreps has been recognized for his research as a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and with an honorary doctorate from Universite Paris IX. In 1989, he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal by the American Economic Association. In 2007, he received the CME Group/MSRI Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications. In 2010 he was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association. In 2018 he was awarded the Carty Prize for the Advancement of Science by the National Academy of Sciences and was named the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prizewinner by Northwestern University. His 1989 Clarendon Lectures, Game Theory and Economic Modelling, have been translated into at least eight languages.

Professor Kreps has taught MBA and doctoral level courses in decision theory, microeconomics, statistics, operations, competitive strategy, game theory, and human resource management. He is the author or coauthor of four textbooks. In 1991, he was awarded the MBA Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2010 he was awarded the Robert T. Davis Faculty Award for his service to Stanford GSB.

Away from work, Professor Kreps enjoys cooking and coaching youth sports. His three children think he has a lame sense of humor, of which this sentence is probably a good example.

Academic Degrees

  • MA and PhD, Stanford University, 1975
  • AB, Dartmouth College, 1972

Academic Appointments

  • Stanford GSB: Professor Emeritus, 2018-present; Professor, 1980-2018; Senior Associate Dean, 2000-09; Associate Professor, 1978-80; Assistant Professor, 1975-78
  • Tel-Aviv University, Berglas School of Economics, Sackler Fellow, 1991-2006
  • Visitor: Bocconi University 1992; St. Catherine's College Oxford 1990; CORE 1990; Tel-Aviv University 1989-90; Universite Paris IX 1986; Hebrew University 1985; Harvard University 1983; Cowles Foundation 1982; Churchill College Cambridge 1978-79

Awards and Honors

  • The Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics, Northwestern University, 2018
  • John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences, 2018
  • Robert T. Davis Faculty Award, 2010
  • Distinguished Fellow, American Economic Association, 2010
  • MSRI Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications, CME Group, 2007
  • Doctorate Honoris Causa, Université Paris IX, 2001
  • John Bates Clark Medal, American Economic Association, 1989
  • Distinguished Teaching Award, MBA, 1991
  • Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, 1989-90
  • Sloan Foundation Fellow, 1983-85

Publications

Journal Articles

Alejandro Francetich, David M. Kreps. Economic Letters. December 2014, Vol. 125, Issue 3, Pages 444-446.
Renee Bowen, David M. Kreps, Andrzej Skrzypacz. Quarterly Journal of Economics. January 2013, Vol. 128, Issue 3, Pages 1273-1320.
David M. Kreps, James N. Baron. California Management Review. 1999, Vol. 41, Issue 3, Pages 29-53.
David M. Kreps. Daedalus. 1997, Vol. 126, Issue 1, Pages 59-85.
David M. Kreps. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings. 1997, Vol. 87, Issue 2, Pages 359-64.
David M. Kreps. Industrial and Corporate Change. 1996, Vol. 5, Issue 2, Pages 561-96.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg. Games and Economic Behavior. 1995, Vol. 8, Pages 20-55.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg. Games and Economic Behavior. 1993, Vol. 5, Pages 320-67.
David M. Kreps, Ayman Hindy, Chi-fu Huang. Journal of Mathematical Economics. 1992, Vol. 21, Pages 401-40.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg, Eric Maskin. Review of Economic Studies. 1990, Vol. 57, Pages 555-73.
David M. Kreps. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 1988, Vol. 2, Pages 111-35.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg, David Levine. Journal of Economic Theory. 1988, Vol. 44, Pages 354-80.
David M. Kreps, Garey Ranet. Econometrica. 1987, Vol. 55, Pages 1331-49.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg. Review of Economic Studies. 1987, Vol. 54, Pages 541-568.
David M. Kreps, In-koo Cho. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 1987, Vol. 102, Pages 179-221.
David M. Kreps. La Revista Espanola de Economia. 1987, Vol. 4, Pages 111-145.
David M. Kreps, Oliver D. Hart. Journal of Political Economy. 1986, Vol. 94, Pages 927-52.
David M. Kreps, Jose Scheinkman. Bell Journal of Economics. 1983, Vol. 14, Pages 326-337.
David M. Kreps, Joel S. Demski. Journal of Accounting Research. 1982, Vol. 20, Pages 117-48.
David M. Kreps, Paul R. Milgrom, John Roberts, Robert Wilson. Journal of Economic Theory. 1982, Vol. 27, Pages 245-252.
David M. Kreps, Robert Wilson. Journal of Economic Theory. 1982, Vol. 27, Pages 253-279.
David M. Kreps, Robert Wilson. Econometrica. 1982, Vol. 50, Pages 863-894.
David M. Kreps. Journal of Mathematical Economics. 1981, Vol. 8, Pages 381-408.
David M. Kreps. Econometrica. May 1979, Vol. 47, Issue 3, Pages 565-577.
David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus. Econometrica. 1979, Vol. 47, Pages 91-100.
J. Michael Harrison, David M. Kreps. Journal of Economic Theory. 1979, Vol. 20, Issue 3, Pages 381–408.
David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus. Journal of Economic Theory. 1979, Vol. 20, Pages 81-109.
David M. Kreps. SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization. 1978, Vol. 16, Pages 420--28.
David M. Kreps, J. Michael Harrison. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 1978, Vol. 92, Pages 323-336.
David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus. Econometrica. 1978, Vol. 46, Issue 1, Pages 185-200.
David M. Kreps. Journal of Economic Theory. 1977, Vol. 14, Pages 32-43.
David M. Kreps. Mathematics of Operations Research. 1977, Vol. 2, Pages 45-53.
David M. Kreps. Mathematics of Operations Research. 1977, Vol. 2, Pages 266-74.
David M. Kreps, Evan L. Porteus. SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics. 1977, Vol. 32, Pages 420--28.

Books

David M. Kreps Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, September 2019.
David M. Kreps W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.
David M. Kreps Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012.
David M. Kreps Norton, 2004.
James N. Baron, David M. Kreps Wiley, April 1999.
David M. Kreps Oxford University Press, December 6, 1990.
David M. Kreps Princeton University Press, February 20, 1990.
David M. Kreps Westview Press, May 12, 1988.

Book Chapters

David M. Kreps, James N. Baron. The Handbook of Organizational Economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, Pages 315-41.
David M. Kreps. Game Theory: 5 Questions . Automatic Press, 2007, Pages 121-35.
David M. Kreps. Research Universities and the Future of the Academic Disciplines. Chicago: Association of American Universities, 2003, Pages 49-72.
David M. Kreps. Frontiers of Research in Economic Theory: The Nancy L. Schwartz Memorial Lectures. Evanston: Northwestern University, 1998, Pages 242074.
David M. Kreps. New Palgrave Dictionary of Law and Economics. London: Macmillan, 1998.
David M. Kreps, Joel Sobel. The Handbook of Game Theory, Volume II. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1994, Pages 849-67.
David M. Kreps. Economic Analysis of Markets and Games. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992.
David M. Kreps. Perspectives on Positive Political Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, Pages 90-142.
David M. Kreps. The Economics of Information, Missing Markets, and Games. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
David M. Kreps. The New Palgrave. London: Macmillan, 1987.
David M. Kreps, Margaret Bray. Kenneth Arrow and the Ascent of Economic Theory. London: Macmillan, 1987.
David M. Kreps, A. Michael Spence. Issues in Contemporary Microeconomics and Welfare. London: Macmillan and Company, 1985, Pages 340-78.
David M. Kreps. The Economics of Information and Uncertainty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.
David M. Kreps, A. Michael Spence. Technological Innovation and Business Strategy. Tokyo: Nippon Keizai Shimbunsha Press, 1896.

Other Publications

David M. Kreps. Evolving Approaches to the Economics of Public Policy. Kalamazoo, Michigan: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2016, Pages 93-143.
David M. Kreps, Drew Fudenberg. CORE Lecture Series. Louvain-la-neuve: CORE Foundation, 1990.

Working Papers

Choosing a Good Toolkit: An Essay in Behavioral Economics
David M. Kreps, Alejandro Francetich, May 2014

Teaching

Degree Courses

2018-19

This course is an introduction to Microeconomics, focusing on concepts and topics relevant to managerial decision making. Topics include the economics of relationships (reciprocity, reputation, credibility, and transaction-cost economics),...

2017-18

This course is an introduction to Microeconomics, focusing on concepts and topics relevant to managerial decision making. Topics include the economics of relationships (reciprocity, reputation, credibility, and transaction-cost economics),...

Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs

Service to the Profession

Member

  • U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 1997-present

Fellow

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1993-present
  • Econometric Society, 1983-present

Co-Editor

  • Econometrica, 1984-88

Program Co-Chair

  • Seventh World Congress of the Econometric Society, 1995

In the Media

Northwestern University News, April 2018
National Academy of Sciences, January 2018
The Economist, August 5, 2002

Insights by Stanford Business

March 27, 2015
An economist explains why “rational choice” is sometimes irrational.
November 1, 2000
In the last 25 years, many if not most significant innovations in economics have been driven by this methodological innovation.

School News

June 20, 2019
Stanford GSB students recognized Professors Timothy McQuade, Jesper Sørensen, and David Kreps for their outstanding teaching.
February 19, 2019
The newly established symposia are a testament to the lasting impact of David M. Kreps’ contributions to Stanford GSB.
April 16, 2018
Northwestern University announces Kreps as the winner of the 2018 Erwin Plein Prize in Economics based on his work in game theory, decision theory, and finance.
March 28, 2018
Three award-winning economists talk about where the field has been and where it’s heading.
January 17, 2018
David Kreps, Paul Milgrom, and Robert Wilson have been honored for their pioneering work using game theory to help solve real-world problems.
February 27, 2017
A recent two-day symposium celebrated the depth and breadth of impact by faculty member David Kreps in choice theory, finance, game theory, economics.
May 15, 2011
Seenu Srinivasan, Larry Wein, and David Kreps are appointed to new chairs.
June 14, 2008
At commencement, Dean Joss expressed appreciation for the “record-smashing” MBA class gift of more than $1.2 million, pledged by 96% of the class.