Jeffrey MacKie-Mason

Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason was the University Librarian and Chief Digital Scholarship Officer, University of California, Berkeley, and a professor in the UC Berkeley School of Information and the Department of Economics.

Formerly he was the dean of the School of Information, University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was also the Arthur W. Burks Professor of Information and Computer Science, and a professor of economics and public policy. He was the founding director of STIET (a research program for Socio-Technical Infrastructure for Electronic Transactions). He is passionate about public universities, where he has spent his entire career.

Current Research

My research and teaching mix mostly economics with some computer science, and a bit of psychology (cognitive, and increasingly social) thrown in. In recent years I've addressed human information behavior online, and the design and performance of information systems and digital content. Applications include the design of complex online markets (and development of emerging empirical game theory techniques), user-contributed content, individual privacy and security, pricing and bundling of digital information, and congestion pricing for Internet services. My approach is incentive-centered design which accounts for the behavior of autonomous, motivated and often strategic humans when designing systems.

I also work on competition policy and antitrust, especially for information technology-related industries. In the past I contributed to research on taxation and corporate behavior, and public utility pricing.

Education

Ph.D., Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986

Master of Public Policy, University of Michigan, 1982

A.B. Environmental Policy, Summa Cum Laude, Dartmouth College, 1980