Onur Kesten

Onur Kesten is Professor of Microeconomics in the School of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the University of Sydney. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Rochester in 2005 and completed his post-doctorate at Harvard University in 2006. Prior to joining the University of Sydney, he held a faculty position at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

Kesten’s research interests lie in market design, matching markets, game theory, and school choice mechanisms. His publications feature in top-tier journals including the Journal of Economic Theory, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Theoretical Economics, and Games and Economic Behavior. Key works include “On two competing mechanisms for priority-based allocation problems” (Journal of Economic Theory, 2006), “School choice with consent” (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2010), “A theory of school-choice lotteries” (Theoretical Economics, 2015), “Chinese college admissions and school choice reforms: A theoretical analysis” (Games and Economic Behavior, 2017), and “Chinese college admissions and school choice reforms: An experimental study” (Games and Economic Behavior, 2019). He has also published on topics such as strategy-proof mediation, perishable goods auctions, and field evaluations of matching mechanisms in Australian university admissions.

In 2024, Professor Kesten was granted an Australian Research Council Discovery Project award of $359,134 for “Developing Optimal Mediation Protocols for Dispute Resolution.” His contributions address efficient, fair, and strategy-proof allocation and mediation protocols with applications in education and dispute resolution.

Professional Email: onur.kesten@sydney.edu.au