John von Neumann was born in Hungary and earned a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Budapest. He was a professor at Princeton University and was at this time, a colleague of Albert Einstein. He helped develop the first electronic computer , named the ENIAC, while at the University of Pennsylvania. Neumann helped build the hydrogen bomb and he founded the theory of games.
He also described an economic model in which everything could be produced out of everything. According to this system, there is a maximal rate of balanced growth, which is exactly equal to the rate of interest. Neumann's and Morganstern's book,"Theo ry of Games and Economic Behavior" gave birth to Game Theory economics and to modern utility theory. Though game theory had been studied before Neumann's and Morganstern's book, the popularity of their work led to the application of game theory in a wide range of social sciences.
Works by John von Neumann:
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