{"id":619437,"date":"2019-11-03T15:33:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T23:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-group&p=619437"},"modified":"2026-01-20T13:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T21:36:39","slug":"economics-and-computation","status":"publish","type":"msr-group","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/theme\/economics-and-computation\/","title":{"rendered":"Economics and Computation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Economics and Computation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Economics and computation is an interdisciplinary field consisting of economists and computer scientists. Economists and computational social scientists have developed a rich and deep theory of individual behavior. Their models shed light on the design of optimal rules governing economic interaction under incentive constraints. Their empirical methodologies allow us to rigorously test the theories and refine the deployed methods. Computer scientists, in turn, have developed a theory of computational thinking, driven by algorithms and complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This group works at the intersection of these two fields. Economics informs what outcomes algorithms can compute in the presence of self-motivated individuals. Computer science offers a theory of complexity and approximation, thereby both imposing realistic constraints on the space of solutions and relaxing the metric by which we judge them. Together, these interdisciplinary researchers can design and build markets and platforms with robust and socially desirable properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Postdoctoral researchers at MSR participate in seminars and the intellectual life of the lab without corporate work responsibilities. Postdocs stay in Microsoft for one or two years and they have opportunities to access Microsoft data, e.g. on online advertising auctions, Xbox use, web browsing, or employee behavior. Postdocs are recruited in the standard economics job market cycle through JOE. We have a strong record of recruiting postdocs who then go on as successful researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The application for 2026 postdoctoral researchers is on the AEA JOE (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are the postdocs by the year they joined and their initial job placement afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current postdoctoral researchers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n