John Morgan 
Professor | Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations | Founding Director, Xlab | Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley Executive Education| Distinguished Teaching Fellow | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES
Areas of Expertise (4)
Experimental Economics
Elections and Polling
Competition in Online Markets
Communication in Organizations
About
John Morgan is the Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations at Berkeley Haas. He served as a Co-director of the Fisher Information Technology Center and a Founding Director of Xlab, the Experimental Social Sciences Laboratory. Before coming to Berkeley, he was a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He earned his PhD and MS from the Pennsylvania State University, as well as earning a BS (summa cum laude) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Morgan is an editor for the Berkeley Electronic Journals for Theoretical Economics. He is also an associate editor at Management Science and Economic Theory and a member of the editorial board for the California Management Review. His most recent consulting experience is in the area of auctions and dynamic pricing for Google, Digonex, and Paging Systems. He has received awards from the National Science Foundation, and he was selected as a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution and the International Monetary Fund. His research on online pricing earned him a best paper award for 2004 in Journal of Industrial Economics. His article "Price Dispersion in the Large and in the Small: Evidence from an Internet Price Comparison Site" won the Journal of Industrial Economics "best article" prize in 2005. His class on game theory is one of the most popular at Berkeley Haas.
Education (3)
Pennsylvania State University: PhD
Pennsylvania State University: MA, Economics
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania: BS, Economics
Links (3)
Honors & Awards (9)
Judge Business School Fellow at Cambridge
2008
Visiting Fellow Commoner Award, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
2007
Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching
2006
W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellowship
2001-2002
National Science Foundation Research Grant
2004 – 2007, 2001 – 2004, 1997 – 1999
Sloan Fellowship
2000 – 2002
Russell Sage Foundation Research Grant
1997 – 1999
Cyril E. Black Preceptorship
1996 – 1998
Pennsylvania State University Graduate Fellowship
1993 – 1995
Selected External Service & Affiliations (6)
- Co-editor, B.E. Journals in Theoretical Economics
- Co-editor, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organizations
- Principal, Nash-equilibrium.com
- Associate Editor, Economic Journal
- Editorial Board, California Management Review
- Certified Public Accountant (inactive)
Positions Held (1)
At Haas since 2002
2006 – present, Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations 2002 – 2006, Professor, Haas School of Business 1999, Visiting Assistant Professor, Economics Department, New York University 1998, Visiting Assistant Professor, Economics Department, University of Pennsylvania 1996 – 2002, Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University 1989 – 1992, Senior Accountant, Bankruptcy and Forensic Accounting Group, Grant Thornton
Media Appearances (6)
Why Am I Paying $60 for That Bag of Rice on Amazon.com?
The Markup online
2020-04-28
Prices have fluctuated since the pandemic, a function of dynamic pricing, which can facilitate more competition by accurately reflecting the market. American Airlines started using dynamic pricing in the 1980s to compete with budget carriers. "There’s no doubt consumers benefited from that," said Prof. John Morgan, the Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations.
Psychology of wealth: do the new rich not care about losing money?
Financial Times online
2019-05-04
Work by Prof. John Morgan, Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations, found that entrepreneurs who put a high value on avoiding loss tend to work harder — more so than those who put a high value on new gains. “There is a view that entrepreneurs are often overconfident gamblers, who thrive on risk, yet there is little evidence to support this view,” said Morgan. “Entrepreneurs aren’t Steve Jobs. They’re ordinary people who want to start a business.”
Professor profiles: John Morgan, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
MBA Mission online
2018-06-20
Prof. John Morgan, Oliver E. and Dolores W. Williamson Chair of the Economics of Organizations, has been teaching at Berkeley Haas since 2002. He won the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2006 and was the first recipient of the Oliver E. Williamson Award in 2014.
Professor Profiles: John Morgan, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
mbaMission online
2017-01-18
Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Each Wednesday, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we focus on John Morgan from the University of California (UC), Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
How to restore power to the people
San Francisco Chronicle online
2016-11-29
In 40 percent of the U.S. presidential elections held in this century, the candidate getting the most votes has lost. In every case, that person was a Democrat. To people not from the United States, such an outcome is puzzling. We are justifiably proud of our democracy with its system where everyone, regardless of wealth, gender, race or religion, has exactly one vote. In elections for the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate, each of these votes counts equally. Indeed, House seats are reapportioned every 10 years to ensure that each seat has roughly the same number of constituents. But there is one exception to this rule giving each vote the same weight — the presidential election. A vote from California has systematically less power than a vote from North Dakota, or indeed any other state. If we truly believe in one person, one vote, we should rethink how we choose our president.
New research suggests banning investment advice in the media
Investment News online
2016-08-16
As a result of the barrage of media reports, investors tend to follow what's popular, and that can lead to distorted market prices that are not based on company fundamentals. “The 'echo chamber' effect of public information can ruin the way the market should function,” Mr. Morgan said.
Selected Papers & Publications (11)
Aspiring to Succeed: a Model of Entrepreneurship and Fear of Failure
Journal of Business VenturingJohn Morgan and Dana Sisak
2016
Majority Rule and Utilitarian Welfare
American Economic Journal: MicroeconomicsVijay Krishna and John Morgan
2015
Strategic and Natural Risk in Entrepreneurship: An Experimental Study
Journal of Economics & Management StrategyJohn Morgan, Henrik Orzen, Martin Sefton, and Dana Sisak
2015
Identification and Estimation of Online Price Competition With an Unknown Number of Firms
Journal of Applied EconometricsJohn Morgan, Yonghong An, Michael R. Baye, Yingyao Hu, and Matt Shum
2015
Who’s Naughty? Who’s Nice? Social Preferences in Online Industries
Journal of Economic Behavior and OrganizationJohn Morgan and Mitchell Hoffman
2015
How much is a Dollar Worth? Tipping versus Equilibrium Coexistence on Competing Online Auction Sites
Journal of Political EconomyJohn Morgan and Jennifer Brown
2009
Brand and Price Advertising in Online Markets
Management ScienceJohn Morgan and Michael Baye
2009
Leadership in Groups: A Monetary Policy Experiment
International Journal of Central BankingJohn Morgan and Alan S. Blinder
2008
Contracting for Information under Imperfect Commitment
RAND Journal of EconomicsJohn Morgan and Vijay Krishna
2008
Teaching (1)
Courses
Game Theory Contract Theory John Morgan
Social