Date/Time
December 03, 2025
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location
Fromm Hall, Maraschi Room

The History and Economics of Online Display Advertising

Dr. Paul Milgrom, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2020), will trace the history of online display advertising from its beginnings in October 1994 to the present day. He will examine how processes and technologies evolved in response to new challenges and opportunities, and how this history raises fresh questions for auction theory.

The evening will conclude with a conversation and Q&A moderated by USF Professor Ludwig Chincarini.

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Paul Robert Milgrom (born April 20, 1948) is an American economist recognized internationally for groundbreaking work in auction theory, market design, game theory, and incentive theory. His research has profoundly influenced how markets are structured and how scarce resources are allocated, especially through the design of auctions for government-issued licenses such as telecommunications spectrum.

Milgrom earned a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan (1970) and went on to Stanford University, where he received an M.S. in Statistics (1978) and a Ph.D. in Business (Economics) from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1979). His doctoral advisor was Robert B. Wilson, with whom he later shared the Nobel Prize.

After completing his doctorate, Milgrom taught at several universities, including Yale, before returning to Stanford. He is currently the Shirley and Leonard Ely Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford. Beyond academia, he co-founded Auctionomics, a firm specializing in market and auction design that advises governments and companies worldwide.

Milgrom’s work has had wide-ranging impact. He co-invented the Simultaneous Multiple Round Auction (SMRA) format, now used globally to auction spectrum licenses. His theoretical contributions also extend into contract theory, incentive design, and pricing mechanisms, shaping both economic research and applied policy.

In 2020, Milgrom was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, shared with Robert Wilson, “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.”