BY SOPHIA GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
Published March 26, 2008

"Should presidents be elected?"

This is what Nobel Prize winner and economist Eric Maskin asked students and community members during a March 19 visit at Tenafly High School.

Maskin, a former THS graduate and Alpine resident, received a 2007 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for the design of economic mechanisms. Mechanism design refers to the creation of components or systems that may be used to coordinate processes such as elections, health care and social welfare.

Apart from work as a theorist, Maskin has served as a consultant to corporations and countries. His recent work with the British government included the design of energy-reducing models in order to entice energy companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Senior high school students in English teacher Dana Maloney’s class helped coordinate the visit. For the past year, the students have delved into global problems and problem solving in a 21st century world. Maloney has encouraged the students to achieve "a goal of real-world learning with real-world impact" by taking up their causes.

At the end of each lecture, Maskin held a 45-minute question-and-answer session with audience members.

(EricMaskin)

Nobel Prize-winning economist Eric Maskin delivers an evening talk at Tenafly High School, his alma mater.