Ben Polak
British economist (born 1961)
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Benjamin "Ben" Polak (born 22 December 1961) is a British professor of economics and management and former provost at Yale University. From 1999 to 2001 Polak was the Henry Kohn Associate Professor of Economics[4][5] and is now the inaugural William C. Brainard Professor of Economics.[6] In January 2013, he became the Provost of Yale University.[7]
Ben Polak | |
|---|---|
| Provost of Yale University | |
| In office 2013–2020 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Salovey |
| Succeeded by | Scott Strobel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 December 1961 |
| Education | Trinity College, Cambridge (BA) Northwestern University (MA) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Children | 3[1] |
| Awards | DeVane Medal (2005) for teaching[2] |
| Fields | decision theory, game theory and economic history |
| Institutions | New Economic School University of Melbourne Yale University |
| Thesis | Problems from the history of capital markets (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jeffrey G. Williamson[3] |
| Doctoral students | Marzena Rostek |
Polak specialises in microeconomic theory, has published 19 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, and is Associate editor of the Journal of Economic Theory.[citation needed]
In 2021 it was reported that Polak was responsible for Yale's decision to terminate the Yale Boswell Editions project, founded in 1949.[8]
Courses taught
In fall 2007, Polak participated in the Open Yale Courses initiative, recording the 24 lecture series and making all course materials freely available on the Internet.[9] Polak describes the motivation for his participation in the scheme as delivering an Ivy League standard education to a wider audience, "It’s not the full Yale experience, unfortunately, but it’s something."[citation needed]