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Benjamin Polak, PhD

William C. Brainard Professor of Economics
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About

Titles

William C. Brainard Professor of Economics

Biography

Ben Polak is the William C. Brainard Professor of Economics, and was appointed as provost of Yale University in January 2013. He joined the Yale faculty in 1994. He has a B.A. from Cambridge University, an M.A. in history from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Prior to joining Yale, he was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and a visiting professor in the initial year of the New Economics School in Moscow. He holds a joint appointment in Yale’s Department of Economics and at the Yale School of Management, teaching mostly decision theory and game theory. He has also taught in Yale Law School in a courtesy appointment. He was chair of the Department of Economics from 2010 until he assumed his current role.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

PhD
Harvard University (1992)
MA
Northwestern University (1986)
BA
Trinity College (1984)

Research

Overview

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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Game Theory

Research at a Glance

Publications Timeline

A big-picture view of Benjamin Polak's research output by year.
5Publications

Publications

2013

  • Mean-dispersion preferences and constant absolute uncertainty aversion
    S. Grant and B. Polak; Journal of Economic Theory
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research

2012

  • America's Hidden Austerity Program
    P. Schott & B. Polak; New York Times
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research

2011

  • Equally-distributed equivalent utility, ex post egalitarianism and utilitarianism
    S. Grant, A. Kajii, B. Polak and Z. Safra; Journal of Economic Theory
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research

2010

  • Introduction to judgment aggregation
    C. List and B. Polak; Journal of economic theory
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research
  • Generalized utilitarianism and Harsanyi's impartial observer theorem
    S. Grant, A. Kajii, B. Polak and Z. Safra; Econometrica
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Graduate Teaching Prize, Economics Department

  • honor

    William Clyde DeVane Medal for undergraduate teaching and scholarship

  • honor

    Graduate Advising Prize

  • honor

    The Lex Hixon '63 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences

  • activity

    Henry Kohn Associate Professor Chair

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Mailing Address

Yale University

PO Box 208229

New Haven, CT 06520

United States