James Mirrlees

Sir James A. Mirrlees was born on 5 July 1936 in Minnigaff, Scotland, and is a Scottish economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1996. His analysis focuses on studying economic situations in which information is asymmetrical or incomplete, and on the consequences that these market imperfections have on the optimal level of savings in an economy. He has also participated in studies with William Vickrey on the principle of moral hazard and the optimal tax.

James Mirrlees studied at the University of Edinburgh and at Trinity College in Cambridge. After completing his studies, he lectured at Oxford (1969-1995) and Cambridge.

James Mirrlees is currently Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and also lectures at Trinity College. He has also been Head of Morningside College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) since August 2009.