Harvard Nabs MIT Economist

Harvard has swiped away a 34-year-old economics scholar from MIT and in the process has revived the ongoing rivalry between the two universities over the swapping of economics faculty members.

Eric Maskin 72, a microeconomics theorist who specialize, in economics of uncertainty and game theory, said yesterday that he will begin teaching courses at Harvard in the fall.

The former North House resident said that the decision to return to his alma mater, where he was also a graduate student, "was based on a number of complex factors," but he declined to elaborate on details of the decision.

He said, however, that he "left MIT on good terms," and that the thing he found "most attractive at Harvard was their theory group."

Since the 1940's several economics professors have jumped both from Harvard to MIT and from MIT to Harvard, and in recent years competetion beteen the two departments has heated up.

After Harvard lured one of MIT's brighest young stars. Professor of Economics Lawerence J. Summers, to Harvard two years ago. MIT economists began to claim that Harvard had stepped too-far.

Harvard also attempted unsuccessfully to lure away both Rudiger Dornbusch and Stanles Fischer from MIT between 1980 and 1982 leading to speculation that the department, are "raiding" each other for faculty members.

Both the Harvard and MIT Economics Departments are considered two of the finest.

The chairman of MIT's Economics Department yesterday declined to comment on the swapping of faculty members in recent years, but he said that MIT had "tried very hard" to keep Maskin from moving across town.

Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence, who is a former chairman of the Harvard economics department, last week acknowledged that "people have raised questions that we are raiding" MIT's department, but he added that Maskin, based on his past experience at Harvard, had a "soft spot" for the University.

"It was the natural thing for him to do," Spence said, referring to Maskin's decision to return to Harvard.

Maskin, who served as junior faculty member at MIT for eight years, downplayed the significance of his departure from MIT for the Harvard post.

"I'am aware that people have left MIT for Harvard and the other way around, but in economics, people move around a lot," Maskin said. "Harvard and MIT are close, which makes it that much easser for professors to move from one to the other.

"The implications are not that important it's not as though there is a war on," he added.

Harvard Economics Department members yesterday were quick to praise Maskin and said he would help beef up the department's strength in theoretical studies.

"He is one of the leading people in the field and brings a completion to our department's strength in this area," said Professor of Economics Andreu Max-Colell.