Eric Budish is a prominent economist in the field of market design, with accompanying expertise in industrial organization and microeconomic theory.
Testifying experience
Professor Budish has testified in deposition and at trial in the high-profile matter, United States et al. v. Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster LLC.
Wide-ranging research on market and mechanism design
In his market design research, Professor Budish applies game theory and mechanism design to analyze how to improve existing markets, how to create new market mechanisms, and how to address market failures. His work includes theoretical and applied studies of financial markets, auctions, blockchains and cryptocurrencies, matching markets, ticket markets, healthcare markets, and patents and innovation.
Professor Budish has addressed high-frequency trading and the design of financial exchanges, as well as the role of trust in financial markets and cryptocurrencies. His work has also examined incentives and competition beyond financial markets, such as matching university students to courses and the performance of ticket pricing and allocation systems.
In addition, Professor Budish has analyzed healthcare-related issues, such as how to accelerate global vaccinations in a pandemic and the relationship between innovation incentives and long-term cancer prevention research.
Institutional and regulatory impact
Professor Budish’s research has been recognized by policymakers and implemented by private entities.
- The New York Attorney General and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair both cited his work proposing frequent batch auctions as an alternative to continuous trading on financial exchanges. Frequent batch auctions and closely related market designs are now used in many financial markets, covering trillions of dollars in trading volume.
- The International Health Economics Association (iHEA) honored Professor Budish with its Arrow Award for the best paper in health economics for his work related to patent design and cancer research and development.
- Many universities have adopted his proposed design for matching students to course schedules.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) invited Professor Budish to deliver a keynote speech to a workshop on consumer protection issues in live event ticket markets.
- Private entities have also engaged Professor Budish to consult on auction design, most significantly the bankruptcy auction for the assets of the Yellow Corporation. The judge in the matter praised the “tremendously successful auction process.”
Academic leadership and teaching
In addition to his positions at the University of Chicago, Professor Budish is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and codirector of the NBER Market Design Working Group. He is also a fellow of the Econometric Society. He has published research in premier economics journals, including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy.
Professor Budish’s work also extends to top-tier management, operations, computer science, and general interest publications, such as Management Science, Operations Research, and Science. His research has been featured in prominent news outlets, including Bloomberg, The Economist, the Financial Times, the New York Times, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
At the University of Chicago, Professor Budish teaches courses in market design, platform markets, and competitive strategy.
Before entering academia, Professor Budish worked as an investment banking analyst.