[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING DR. VERNON SMITH, RECIPIENT OF 2002 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMIC 
                                SCIENCES

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. 
Vernon Smith, the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic 
Sciences.
  A professor at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, Dr. 
Smith has laid the foundation for the field of experimental economics 
by pioneering the use of laboratory experiments in evaluating the 
performance and function of markets. He has demonstrated the importance 
of alternative market institutions, such as how the revenue expected by 
a seller depends on the choice of auction method. Smith has also 
spearheaded ``wind-tunnel tests'', where trials of alternative market 
designs, when deregulating electricity markets, are carried out in the 
lab before being implemented in practice.
  As a result of Dr. Smith's compelling research, experimental 
techniques have been applied by economic scholars worldwide. They have 
given economists a deeper understanding of the actual workings of the 
real-world markets and institutions and have helped guide public policy 
in electric power, water markets and in the design and testing of a 
pollution permit trading system. His ability to test economic theory 
has shed new insight into how goods are bought and sold, how airlines 
price their tickets, how pollution could be reduced, how stock trading 
could be less volatile, how state and federal regulations are 
developed, how states structure electric power industries, and how 
companies manage their employees.
  Dr. Smith is a faculty member at the George Mason University School 
of Law and the Department of Economics, and leads a team of economists 
at the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science. He came to George 
Mason thanks in part to a $3 million grant from the Charles G. Koch 
Charitable Foundation. Dr. Smith is the second George Mason scholar to 
receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; economics 
professor James Buchanan received the award in 1986 for his 
groundbreaking work on public choice theory.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, it gives me great pleasure to extend my 
warmest congratulations to Dr. Smith on his 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize 
in Economic Sciences. His achievements and contribution to the field 
will be priceless to Virginia and the world as a whole. Virginia is 
proud to have such a distinguished citizen in its professional and 
social community. Once again, Mr. Speaker, Northern Virginia has proven 
to be a hotbed of cutting-edge, influential scientific process. I call 
upon my colleagues to join me in applauding this remarkable 
achievement.

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