Fowler Engineering Presents: Economic Engineering: Designing Smart Computer-Assisted Markets

Speaker: Dr. David Porter

Abstract: The design of markets for goods previously considered non-tradable has experienced a significant boom. From trading combinations of goods to creating unique resource packages and matching people with jobs, new market forms are being designed to facilitate these efficient trades. This presentation will explore how computers are playing a crucial role in making these trades possible. We will delve into the process of designing, testing, and implementing new market forms, using examples from various industries, such as allocating airline landing slots and resource allocation on spacecrafts.

Bio: Professor of Economics and Mathematics, Donna and David Janes Endowed Chair in Experimental Economics. Dr. Porter utilizes experimental methods in economics to design, develop, test and implement new and complex market systems. He was the principal architect of the Cassini Resource Exchange, making resource trading possible on the Cassini mission to Saturn. Dr. Porter also helped develop the Sears Logistic Auction for allocating truckload traffic, the Automated Credit Exchange for trading pollution permits, the Commonwealth of Virginia's new source credit auction for NoX emissions and BondConnect, which facilitates portfolio trades of various bond classes. Dr. Porter has designed and developed combinatorial markets that enable the efficient trading of packaged commodities. He also uses experiments to examine price formation in asset markets, including bubbles, the microstructure of asset markets, and its effect on price dynamics.