Anthony M. Kwasnica
Emeritus Professor of Business Economics of Risk Management
Anthony M. Kwasnica is Emeritus Professor of Business Economics at Penn State University. He studies the role of private information in economic systems. He conducts both theoretical and experimental (laboratory) research on how individuals and institutions respond to these situations. Dr. Kwasnica is actively involved in research on the design and implementation of complex auctions. He has conducted experiments that have been used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider new designs for the broadband spectrum auctions. Likewise, Dr. Kwasnica has investigated the susceptibility of various auction designs to collusion. In the past, Dr. Kwasnica has been contracted by the FCC to conduct an experimental examination of horizontal concentration limits in the cable television industry. He has also worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the design of markets to predict global instability. In addition to teaching undergraduate courses in mathematical modeling and decision analysis, Dr. Kwasnica has taught microeconomics, macroeconomics and decision-making under uncertainty to executives and MBAs at both The Smeal College of Business and The Kellogg School of Management. Dr. Kwasnica received his PhD in Social Science from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Kwasnica is also Director of the Laboratory for Economics Management and Auctions (LEMA), which is Penn State’s only dedicated experimental economics laboratory.
Expertise
Dr. Kwasnica is currently conducting research on the coordination in games, the design of auctions for conservation projects, and the ability to real human decision maker to correctly account for information source uncertainty.
Education
Ph D in Social Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 2000-01-01 MS in Social Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 1997-01-01 BA in Economics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1994-01-01
Courses Taught
B A 427 – Risk and Decisions
Conceptualizing decisions involving risk, analyzing choices, estimating the risk, and communicating the analysis.
B A 512 – Quantitative Analysis for Managerial Decision Making
Construction and use of quantitative methods in business decision-making.
B A 532 – Global Business Environment
An introduction to worldwide economic trends and economic problems with an emphasis on how businesses cope with global business problems.
B A 545 – Business, Government and International Economics
Understand how macroeconomic events and policies affect the global economy and business decisions.
B A 597D – Advanced Microeconomic Analysis (D)
Topics in advanced microeconomic analysis including competitive analysis, game theory, and mechanism design.
B A 597D (D)
This course discusses topics in advanced microeconomic analysis including competitive analysis, game theory, and mechanism design.
B A 597F – Experiemntal and Behavioral Research in Business Economics (F)
This class will provide an introduction to the researcher interested in using experimental methods or behavioral models in their research. The class will cover topics including the design, conduct, and analysis of economics experiments. A review of some s
B A 597K – Business Government and International Economics (K)
Greater context to understand how marketing strategies can or cannot be used to address key issues.
BA 512 – Quan Anl Mg Dec Mk
Construction and use of quantitative methods in business decision-making.
BA 512 – Risk and Decisions
This course is an introduction to the mathematical methods and tools of managerial decision making under uncertainty. While the main topics of the course are probability, statistics, decision analysis, simulation, and regression which are mathematical by nature, emphasis is placed on improving an intuitive understanding of the underlying issues in these topics. Rather than simply memorizing mathematical formulas, the student is encouraged to gain a better understanding of why certain concepts are used, and to learn what type of information is relevant to evaluate different situations of uncertainty. Students are expected to apply and discuss how the quantitative analysis they develop aides in business decision making. Students are expected to gain familiarity with various state of the art software packages for this analysis.
BA 513 – ADV MICROECON BUS
This course discusses topics in advanced microeconomic analysis with an emphasis on applications to applied research areas in business and other related disciplines. Topics include (but are not limited to) general equilibrium, choice under uncertainty, game theory, mechanism design, and behavioral economics. An area of particular focus is how incomplete and asymmetric information impacts competitive and strategic behavior by individuals and firms in a variety of applied settings. The materials emphasize theoretical models prevalent in microeconomic research, and students are expected to develop a familiarity with the use of mathematical modeling in economics. Whenever possible applications to related applied disciplines such as those in finance, supply chain management, accounting, and agricultural economics will be highlighted and discussed. Experimental methods will be used at times to motivate and discuss various economic principles.
BA 597 – Special Topics
Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently.
BA 597D – **Special Topics** (D)
BA 597F – **Special Topics** (F)
MS&IS 427 – Management Decision Theory
Theoretical concepts for the solution of complex decision problems in business.
MS&IS 459W – Decision Support Systems (W)
Development of computer-based decision aids for supporting managerial decision making.
SC&IS 596 – Individual Studies
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript.
Selected Publications
Kwasnica A. M. "A Synthetic Prediction Market for Estimating Confidence in Published Work" AAAI 2022 Demonstrations, 2022-02-01
Kwasnica A. M., Velthius R., Williams J. "Did You See What I Saw? Interpreting Others' Forecasts When Their Information Is Unknown" Review of Finance, vol. 23, 2019-03-01
Fan J., Kwasnica A. M., Thomas D. "Paying for Teamwork: Supplier Coordination with Endogenously-Selected Groups" Production and Operations Management, vol. 27, 2018-06-01
Davis A., Katok E., Kwasnica A. M. "Should Sellers Prefer Auctions? A Laboratory Comparison of Auctions and Sequential Mechanisms" Management Science, vol. 60, 2014-04-01
Kogan S., Kwasnica A. M., Weber R. "Coordination in the Presence of Asset Markets" American Economic Review, vol. 101, 2011-04-01
Kwasnica A. M., Sherstyuk K. "Collusion and equilibrium selection in auctions" The Economic Journal, vol. 117, 2007-01-01
Chen-Ritzo C., Harrison T. P., Kwasnica A. M., Thomas D. J. "Better, Faster, Cheaper: An experimental analysis of a multi-attribute reverse auction mechanism with restricted information feedback" Management Science, vol. 51, 2005-12-01
Kwasnica A. M., DeMartini C., Ledyard J., Porter D. "A New and Improved Design for Multi-Object Iterative Auctions" Management Science, vol. 51, 2005-03-01