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Jean-Jacques Herings appointed as Professor of Quantitative Microeconomics

Published: 27th January 2022 Last updated: 27th January 2022

Tilburg University has appointed Prof. Jean-Jacques Herings as Professor of Quantitative Microeconomics in the Department of Econometrics and Operations Research at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM), effective March 1, 2022. Herings will carry out research in the field of economic theory and operations research.

His research will focus on five themes: cooperative game theory, non-cooperative game theory, networks, general equilibrium theory, and equilibrium computation.

Cooperative game theory studies how players work together, form coalitions, and divide the resulting proceeds among themselves. Applications are very broad and vary from the determination of the power of political parties based on the number of seats they have in the House of Representatives to the division of scarce river water among countries located along the rivers in question.

Non-cooperative game theory is based on individual behavior and formulates models for the study of interaction between individuals. Herings applies non-cooperative game theory to models of auctions and negotiations.

The theory of networks studies various aspects, including what networks are ultimately formed and the consequences of the network structure for economic outcomes. Among other things, Herings carries out research into what is known as ‘matching problems’, such as the matching of pupils to schools and kidney patients to donors.

General equilibrium theory studies how price equilibrium arises in markets as a result of supply and demand. Herings examines cases in which markets may function less well because of imperfections like price stickiness and market incompleteness. He has also applied the theory to financial markets.

In the field of equilibrium computation, Herings is working on algorithms that enable the calculation of equilibria in game theory, networks, and general equilibrium theory.

I am delighted to be returning to the Department of Econometrics and Operations Research at TiSEM, a wonderful department at one of the best economics faculties in Europe, and to be able to contribute to the high quality of teaching and research. – Jean-Jacques Herings

TiSEM is very pleased to be able to get a leading economist, such as Jean-Jacques Herings, to come back to his alma mater. He can make a significant contribution to achieving our mission: developing and propagating groundbreaking knowledge in the field of economics and management to help our understanding and the progress of our ever-changing society. – Lex Meijdam (interim Dean of TiSEM)

Jean-Jacques Herings

Professor Jean-Jacques Herings (1969) studied Econometrics at Tilburg University where, in 1991, he obtained his Master’s degree and, in 1995, his PhD. He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Catholique de Louvain, in Belgium, after which he returned to the Department of Econometrics at Tilburg University. In 1999, he was appointed Professor of  Economics, and Microeconomics in particular, at Maastricht University.

He also worked at Yale University, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes et Sciences Sociales in Paris and the City University of Hong Kong as visiting professor.  

Herings has been awarded a great many grants, including a personal postdoctoral grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) (the predecessor of the VENI grant), a Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) fellowship (the predecessor of the VIDI grant) and a VICI grant from the NWO. His work was crowned with the Johannes Cornelis Ruigrok Prize in 1997 and the Lionel W. McKenzie Prize in 2008. He has been closely involved with the Game Theory Society, as a member of the Council from early 2011 till 2017, as a fellow from 2017, and as secretary and treasurer from 2014. He was also appointed a fellow of the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory in 2019.

Herings has had more than 150 papers published in leading national and international journals, including Econometrica, Economic Journal, International Economic Review, Journal of Economic Theory, Management Science, and Mathematics of Operations Research. He has, moreover, been on the editorial boards of various reputable journals and has held a high position in the annual best Dutch Economists ranking (the Economist Top 40) published by the journal Economisch Statistische Berichten (Economic Statistical Reports, ESB) for a considerable time.

Note to the editors

For more information, please contact press officer Annemeike Tan, Tilburg University, tel. 013 466 2596, a.m.tan@tilburguniversity.edu.