Charles F. Manski

Manski was predicted to win the Nobel Prize in 2015 by Reuters along with two other economists. Chicago economist John A. List for his work on field experiments and English economist Richard Blundell for his work on labor markets were also listed as favorites to win a future Nobel Prize.

As of 2007, Manski's research interests focus primarily on the field of formation of social policy with partial knowledge of treatment response. Economists and doctors alike share a common interest in gauging the effect of various "treatments" delivered to "patients." Since research on treatment response rarely provides sufficient information to determine effectiveness, how should the available evidence be employed in choosing future treatments?

In 2004, Manski challenged the theoretical basis for statements in the popular media "that markets can predict an election better than polls and experts can."

Manski has served as a member of the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee on National Statistics (1996–2000), and the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (1992–1998). At the NRC, he has been Chair of the Committee on Data and Research for Policy on Illegal Drugs (1998–2001) and a member of the Board on Mathematical Sciences and their Applications (2004–2007) and the Committee on Law and Justice (2009–). Manski is an elected fellow of the Econometric Society, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2009, Manski was elected to the National Academy of Sciences; he is one of 2 economists elected to the body in 2009 and one of about 60 economists elected up to that point. In 2014 he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1970 and 1973. He first taught at Carnegie Mellon University (1973–1980), moving on to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1978–1983), and joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (U.W., 1983–1998). While at the U.W., Manski served as Director of the Institute for Research on Poverty (1988–1991) and as Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1994–1998). Since 1997 Manski has been Board of Trustees Professor in Economics at Northwestern University.

Charles Frederick Manski (born November 27, 1948 in Boston), is Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, an econometrician in the realm of rational choice theory, and an innovator in the arena of parameter identification. His research spans econometrics, judgment and decision, and the analysis of social policy (such as work on school choice). A specialist in prediction and decision, he is known within the economics field for landmark work on partial identification, identification of discrete choice models, and identification of social interactions. He has also performed substantial empirical research on measurement of expectations in surveys.