John Roemer
Encyclopedia
John E. Roemer is an American economist
and political scientist. He is currently the Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics at Yale University
. Prior to joining Yale, he was on the economics faculty at the University of California, Davis
, and before entering academia Roemer worked for several years as a labor organizer. He is married to Natasha Roemer and lives in New York City
.
Roemer received his A.B. in mathematics summa cum laude from Harvard
in 1966. He then enrolled as a graduate student in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley
, from where he was expelled for his political activism during the time of the Vietnam War. He eventually received his Ph.D. in economics from Berkeley in 1974.
and distributive justice
. In recent years he has focused his attention on the topic of equal opportunity
. In his book, Equality of Opportunity, he argues that society must take the action necessary to ensure that an individual's economic (or welfare) prospects are independent of attributes such as race, gender and the economic class to which one is born. Instead, one's achieved level of welfare should depend solely on the effort that one exerts in life. In another recent monograph, Democracy, Education and Equality, Roemer claims that democracy
as a political mechanism cannot guarantee, even in the long run, that an individual's prospects will be independent of the wealth or education of his/her parents, and thus we cannot rely on democracy
alone for implementing the equality of opportunity concept of justice.
Previously in his career, Roemer was part of the analytical marxism
school of thought, and served as one of its founders along with G.A. Cohen, Jon Elster
, and others members of the September Group. His earlier books such as, Analytical Foundations of Marxian Economic Theory, A General Theory of Exploitation and Class, Value Exploitation and Class, and Free to Lose: An Introduction to Marxian Economic Philosophy, indicate his strong interest in leftist economic philosophy, and his emphasis on the importance of providing game-theoretic
and microeconomic
foundations for Marxist theory.
Roemer has also developed new ideas in political economy. In his book Political Competition, he argues that the traditional Downsian
model of political competition in a one-dimensional policy-space is unsatisfactory because it leaves many questions inadequately answered, such as why the poor do not expropriate the rich in democracies. In multiple dimensions, however, Nash Equilibria
tend not to exist, and thus without new tools it is impossible for us to predict what policies parties will propose. Roemer offers a solution to this problem through the concept of Party-Unanimity Nash Equilibrium
, or simply PUNE, in which the factions
of political parties
-- the militants, opportunists and reform
ers -- must unanimously agree to make deviations from a given policy
for that policy to not be a part of the equilibrium. This kind of unanimity is often rare, and there tend to be several PUNE even when there are no regular Nash equilibria, thus creating the opposite problem of multiple equilibria. Nevertheless, the PUNE concept has proven to be very useful, and Roemer and his coauthors have used it to study problems such as voter racism
and xenophobia
.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and political scientist. He is currently the Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Prior to joining Yale, he was on the economics faculty at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, and before entering academia Roemer worked for several years as a labor organizer. He is married to Natasha Roemer and lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Roemer received his A.B. in mathematics summa cum laude from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1966. He then enrolled as a graduate student in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, from where he was expelled for his political activism during the time of the Vietnam War. He eventually received his Ph.D. in economics from Berkeley in 1974.
Academic Contributions
Roemer is famous for his work in the fields of economic philosophyPhilosophy of economics
Philosophy and economics may refer to the branch of philosophy that studies issues relating to economics or, alternatively, to the branch of economics that studies its own foundations and status as a moral science....
and distributive justice
Distributive justice
Distributive justice concerns what some consider to be socially just allocation of goods in a society. A society in which incidental inequalities in outcome do not arise would be considered a society guided by the principles of distributive justice...
. In recent years he has focused his attention on the topic of equal opportunity
Equal opportunity
Equal opportunity, or equality of opportunity, is a controversial political concept; and an important informal decision-making standard without a precise definition involving fair choices within the public sphere...
. In his book, Equality of Opportunity, he argues that society must take the action necessary to ensure that an individual's economic (or welfare) prospects are independent of attributes such as race, gender and the economic class to which one is born. Instead, one's achieved level of welfare should depend solely on the effort that one exerts in life. In another recent monograph, Democracy, Education and Equality, Roemer claims that democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
as a political mechanism cannot guarantee, even in the long run, that an individual's prospects will be independent of the wealth or education of his/her parents, and thus we cannot rely on democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
alone for implementing the equality of opportunity concept of justice.
Previously in his career, Roemer was part of the analytical marxism
Analytical Marxism
Analytical Marxism refers to a particular Marxist approach that was prominent amongst English-speaking philosophers and social scientists during the 1980s. It was mainly associated with the September Group of academics, so called because of their biennial September meetings to discuss common...
school of thought, and served as one of its founders along with G.A. Cohen, Jon Elster
Jon Elster
Jon Elster is a Norwegian social and political theorist who has authored works in the philosophy of social science and rational choice theory...
, and others members of the September Group. His earlier books such as, Analytical Foundations of Marxian Economic Theory, A General Theory of Exploitation and Class, Value Exploitation and Class, and Free to Lose: An Introduction to Marxian Economic Philosophy, indicate his strong interest in leftist economic philosophy, and his emphasis on the importance of providing game-theoretic
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
and microeconomic
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of how the individual modern household and firms make decisions to allocate limited resources. Typically, it applies to markets where goods or services are being bought and sold...
foundations for Marxist theory.
Roemer has also developed new ideas in political economy. In his book Political Competition, he argues that the traditional Downsian
Anthony Downs
Anthony Downs is a scholar in public policy and public administration, and since 1977 is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C..-Education:...
model of political competition in a one-dimensional policy-space is unsatisfactory because it leaves many questions inadequately answered, such as why the poor do not expropriate the rich in democracies. In multiple dimensions, however, Nash Equilibria
Nash equilibrium
In game theory, Nash equilibrium is a solution concept of a game involving two or more players, in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has anything to gain by changing only his own strategy unilaterally...
tend not to exist, and thus without new tools it is impossible for us to predict what policies parties will propose. Roemer offers a solution to this problem through the concept of Party-Unanimity Nash Equilibrium
Roemer Model of Political Competition
The Roemer model of political competition is a game between political parties in which each party announces a multidimensional policy vector. Since Nash equilibria do not normally exist when the policy space is multidimensional, John Roemer introduced the concept of party-unanimity nash...
, or simply PUNE, in which the factions
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
of political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
-- the militants, opportunists and reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
ers -- must unanimously agree to make deviations from a given policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
for that policy to not be a part of the equilibrium. This kind of unanimity is often rare, and there tend to be several PUNE even when there are no regular Nash equilibria, thus creating the opposite problem of multiple equilibria. Nevertheless, the PUNE concept has proven to be very useful, and Roemer and his coauthors have used it to study problems such as voter racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
.
External links
- Homepage
- Professor Roemer on 'Equality in an Era of Responsibility' Podcast of lecture for the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, Oxford, 29 April 2009