Schelling, Thomas Crombie (1921– )

US economist, who with Israeli mathematician and economist Robert J Aumann shared the 2005 Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on game theory. The diverse subjects of his teaching and writing include arms control, crime, and business ethics.

His work used game theory to enhance understanding of the causes of economic conflict and cooperation. His book The Strategy of Conflict (1960) describes his concept of game theory as a unifying model for all the social sciences and has become an important resource for conflict resolution.

Schelling earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1944 and his doctorate in economics from Harvard University in 1951. He was a US government economist and then a professor at Yale before he became the Lucius N Litauer Professor of Political Economics at Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government, where he taught for 20 years. His analysis of economic policy in such areas as energy, environmental protection, and nuclear capabilities is highly regarded.