Morimitsu Kurino - Awarded in 2021
Participant Profile
Morimitsu Kurino
Market DesignGraduated from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1997. Received his Ph.D. from the Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, USA in 2009. After serving as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Economics in Germany, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics, Maastricht University in the Netherlands, a researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center in Germany, and an assistant and associate professor at the University of Tsukuba, he has been in his current position since 2018. Since 2019, he has also served as the director of the Center for Social Innovation in Market Design at the Institute for Economic Studies, Keio University. *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
Morimitsu Kurino
Market DesignGraduated from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1997. Received his Ph.D. from the Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, USA in 2009. After serving as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Economics in Germany, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics, Maastricht University in the Netherlands, a researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center in Germany, and an assistant and associate professor at the University of Tsukuba, he has been in his current position since 2018. Since 2019, he has also served as the director of the Center for Social Innovation in Market Design at the Institute for Economic Studies, Keio University. *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
Designing the Rules of the Market
What is market design?
Market design is a field that gradually formed from the 1990s as experts in microeconomic theory designed the rules (or systems) for markets such as spectrum auctions and resident matching programs. Perhaps because it is not yet widely recognized, it is often mistaken for "marketing design." Problems often arise from free economic activity alone, so markets need rules. A key feature of market design is that it examines the finer points of these rules. We first conduct theoretical studies, and then use simulations and experiments to verify whether the designed rules function as theory predicts and to examine points unresolved by theory. In this sense, I believe it is a practical field aimed at solving societal problems.
What are some markets that have actually been designed?
In the matching markets that I primarily study, economists have designed systems for resident matching and school choice (such as high school and university admissions) in countries around the world, including Japan. Projects I have been involved in as a lead designer include the school choice system at the University of Tsukuba and, more recently, the selection method for our university's student exchange program, which is scheduled to be implemented from fiscal year 2022. For the latter, in anticipation of a future increase in partner institutions, we designed the system to fairly and efficiently assign students to their preferred destinations (fulfilling their preferences as much as possible) while reducing the administrative burden. I am currently working on reservation systems, lung transplant systems, next-generation mobility markets, and renewable energy markets.
What is the future of market design?
Until now, most markets addressed by market design were existing ones where some problem had arisen, and the goal was to fix it. As emerging technologies like quantum computing advance, I believe the future challenge for market design will be to create new markets while considering what kind of future society we want to build.
A Message to Students
In Japan, it is common to graduate from an undergraduate program and then acquire skills at the company you join. The time may come when this is no longer enough. When that happens, I hope you will consider returning to university to acquire specialized knowledge in graduate school and go on to create new markets.
(Interview conducted in January 2022)