Beth Allen is the Curtis Carlson Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota (where she is also a full member of the Graduate Faculty in Finance) and an Adjunct Consultant to the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She has recently taught advanced Ph.D.-level courses in microeconomic theory, general equilibrium theory, game theory, the economics of information, financial economics, and industrial organization.
Professor Allen earned her A.B. degree (1974) in Chemistry and Economics at Cornell University and her M.A. (1976) in Mathematics and Ph.D. (1978) in Economics at U,C. Berkeley, where her dissertation was supervised by Gerard Debreu. A summer position working for Irma Adelman in the World Bank's Development Research Center influenced her to decide to pursue graduate studies in mathematical economics rather than theoretical physical chemistry (quantum theory and statistical mechanics). Both fields involve elegant abstract theory and use advanced mathematics in an interesting way to solve problems and better understand real world phenomena.
Prior to moving to Minnesota in 1992, Dr. Allen was Assistant Professor (1978-83), tenured Associate Professor (1983-86), Professor (1986-92), and Milton C. Denbo Term Professor ( 1991-92) at the University of Pennsylvania. She has held visiting positions at Bell Labs, U .C. Berkeley, Churchill College/Cambridge University, Universität Bonn, and the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Shorter research visits (one month or more) include CEPREMAP in Paris, CORE, Bonn, the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Osaka, Universittät Bielefeld, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Université Aix-Marsei1le, the New University of Lisbon, and the University of Oslo, with funding from a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Science, FNRS, the Nomura Foundation, the Bank of Norway, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (through Sonderforschungsbereiche 21 and 303) and the Marshall Plan Fund.
Professor Allen is recognized for her research contributions in the areas of rational expectations, a metric space structure for information and the treatment of endogenous information as a differentiated commodity, randomized pricing strategies for firms, the structure of aggregate demand and equilibria, and the incorporation of information into cooperative game theory. Other work includes technological diffusion (modeled as a stochastic process with interactions on a graph), approximate expected utility, social choice, the timing of transactions and (currently) firm formation. Allen's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (Economics Program and Information Impact Program/Information Science and Technology) since 1979.
Recently Allen has begun research in the area of engineering design and manufacturing, especially some theoretical aspects of geometric modeling and CAD/CAM systems. For this work, she serves as sole principal investigator for a research grant from the NSF's Engineering Design Program (Division of Design, Manufacture, and Industrial Innovation, Directorate for Engineering). Part of the motivation for her interest in this area lies in her desire to understand how firms make decisions about product selection and technology choice.
Beth Allen was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 1983. She has served as member and chair of its Fellows Nominating Committee, member and chair of the Program Committee for the North American Summer Meeting, and member of the Program Committee for the North American Winter Meeting and the World Congress. Currently she serves on the American Economic Association' s Honors and Awards Committee and she is President of the Midwest Economics Association. She has lectured at three NATO Advanced Study Institutes and has organized NSF-funded research conferences on general equilibrium, decentralization, and game theory. Allen served a term on the NSF's Economics Panel as well as two recent ad hoc panels in engineering. From 1986 to 1989, she served on the CSWEP Board as Eastern Representative and organized the non-gender-related CSWEP sessions for the 1989 AEA meeting in Atlanta. In addition, she participated as a senior mentor in the CCOFFE programs at the AEA, Midwest, and Southern meetings in 1998. She serves on an alumni advisory council to Cornell University.
Beth Allen's hobbies include European travel, food and wine (but not cooking), reading (especially biographies and works on the sociology of science), and cultural activities such as listening to Renaissance and Baroque music. For exercise, she swims laps very slowly.