NEW YORK, December 10, 2001 -- The sixth annual Paul A. Samuelson
Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security will
be shared by authors John Cochrane for "Asset Pricing," and Christian
Gollier for "The Economics of Risk and Time," both published
in 2001. It is the first time the TIAA-CREF Institute’s award has been
shared by two people.
John Cochrane is the Theodore O. Yntema Professor of Finance in the Graduate
School of Business at the University of Chicago. Christian Gollier is a Professor
of Economics at the University of Toulouse in France. Professor Gollier also
holds an appointment as a Professor of Economics at the Ecole Polytechnique
in France. He is the first Samuelson Award winner from outside of the United
States.
The award will be presented by John H. Biggs, TIAA-CREF chairman, president
and CEO, at a January 4, 2002 ceremony to be held at the Allied Social Science
Association’s annual meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel. Each
of the award winners will receive a $15,000 cash prize.
Every day, financial market decision-makers price trillions of dollars worth
of securities such as stocks, bonds, options futures, and derivatives. Asset
pricing -- the systematic determination of the value of these securities - has
developed dramatically due to advances in financial theory and econometric science.
Professor Cochrane unifies and brings this science up to date for the benefit
of advanced students and investment professionals. Instead of using a separate
set of models for each asset class, "Asset Pricing" presents
a unified treatment using an integrated approach based on the stochastic discount
factor.
Professor Gollier’s "The Economics of Risk and Time"
updates and expands the theory of expected utility as applied to risk analysis
and financial decision-making in macroeconomics, finance and environmental economics.
The book focuses on the interaction between risk and time used in financial
management. It clarifies the concept of time diversification, and the links
between saving, portfolio choice, and retirement. It also discusses the importance
of financial markets for an efficient allocation of risks in the economy.
The Paul A. Samuelson Award is determined by an independent panel of judges
and is administered by the TIAA-CREF Institute, the research and educational
arm of the TIAA-CREF organization. The award was named after Nobel Prize winner
Paul Samuelson in honor of his achievements in the field of economics, as well
as for his service as a CREF trustee from 1974-85.
The Institute’s fields of interest include pensions and retirement; corporate
governance; investment products and strategy; higher education financing and
trends; health, life, and long-term care insurance; endowment management; financial
planning; and financial literacy.
Six noted scholars served as judges for the 2001 award: John Y. Campbell, Otto
Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Department of Economics, Harvard University;
Alan L. Gustman, Loren M. Berry Professor of Economics, Department of Economics,
Dartmouth College; Marjorie B. McElroy, Professor of Economics and Chair, Department
of Economics, Duke University; Mark V. Pauly, Bendheim Professor of Health Care
Systems, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Joseph F. Quinn, Professor
of Economics and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College; and Robert
W. Vishny, Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, Graduate
School of Business, University of Chicago.
TIAA-CREF encompasses the premier pension system for people employed in education
and research in the U.S., serving approximately 11,000 institutions and 2.3
million participants. The organization also serves both educators and the general
public with mutual funds, annuities, IRAs, insurance and trust services, and
is the leading manager of state-sponsored college saving programs
