The video was shared by Stanford University on its Twitter account, which showed an excited Wilson repeatedly ringing the doorbell at Milgrom’s house. When Milgrom finally responds, Wilson breaks Nobel’s news over the intercom.
The moment was also witnessed live by Wilson’s wife who was in Stockholm and had received a bell notification on her phone.
The #NobelPrize committee was unable to reach Paul Milgrom to share the news that he won, so his fellow winner and whinny… https://t.co/sbGMhCNpxP
– Stanford University (@Stanford) 1602505967000
For helping auctions run more efficiently, two Americans won the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday.
The discoveries by Milgrom and Wilson, both from Stanford University, “have benefited sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world,” said the Nobel Committee.
Wilson, 83, was once Milgrom’s doctoral advisor, and it turns out the two are neighbors too. Contacted by phone at his home in California, Milgrom, 72, said he received the news of his victory “in a strange way.”
“I got a knock on my door from Bob Wilson,” he told The Associated Press.
Security camera footage at Milgrom’s home captured the moment. Wilson knocked on Milgrom’s door in the dead of night and spoke on the intercom. “Paul,” he said. “It’s Bob Wilson. You’ve won the Nobel Prize.” Awakened, Milgrom stuttered for a moment and then said, “Wow.”
The two tackled the tricky problem of making auctions work efficiently. The committee said Wilson’s work showed “ why rational bidders tend to bid below their best estimate of common value, ” which could mean that the item costs less than it is worth and perhaps not to the buyer. who wants it the most, neither of which is supposed to happen if the auction works properly.
(With inputs from agencies)
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