Kenneth Arrow

Kenneth Arrow (1921-2017) was an American economist who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1972 for his work on general equilibrium theory and welfare economics. He is also known for his work on social choice theory, game theory, and information economics.

Arrow's work on general equilibrium theory showed that a competitive market economy can achieve an equilibrium in which all markets are cleared and all prices are consistent with each other. This work was a major contribution to the understanding of how markets work and how they can be used to allocate resources efficiently.

Arrow's work on welfare economics showed that it is not always possible to make social welfare improvements without making some people worse off. This result, known as Arrow's impossibility theorem, has important implications for the design of public policies.

Arrow's work on social choice theory showed that it is not possible to design a voting system that always produces a transitive and unanimous social choice. This result has implications for the design of democratic institutions.

Arrow's work on game theory showed that it is possible for players to cooperate to achieve better outcomes than they could achieve if they acted independently. This result has implications for the design of cooperative games and for the study of conflict and negotiation.

Arrow's work on information economics showed that the value of information depends on the way it is used. This result has implications for the design of markets for information and for the study of how information is used in decision-making.

Kenneth Arrow was a major figure in the development of modern economics. His work has had a profound impact on the way we think about markets, welfare, social choice, games, and information.