Leo Herzel (1923-2011) – 1951 Color Television student article that laid the foundational analysis for frequency spectrum auctions around the world

I’ve heard of Leo Herzel (via Prof. Ronald Coase and others) for some years, it was only yesterday that I finally got around to read his “My 1951 Color Television Article” (The Journal of Law & Economics, 1998) that talks about his original 1951 thought provoking and influential idea and analysis.

Quoting the Leo’s obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times,

“His legacy extends to at least three Nobel Prize-winning economists, including Ronald Coase, who credits Mr. Herzel with creation of the initial theory that later became the foundation for his Nobel Prize-winning article, “The Problem of Social Cost.”

Mr. Herzel’s analysis of market solutions to resource allocation problems, written while he was a student at the University of Chicago in 1950, guides FCC policy [in particular, frequency spectrum auctions in US and around the world] to this day.”

Leo passed away on July 21st, 2011. See obituaries from Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Tribute.