Thomas Schelling

segregation models; micromotives/macrobehavior.

Thomas Schelling (1921–2016) was a professor at Harvard and later the University of Maryland, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005. His book 'The Strategy of Conflict' (1960) introduced focal points—solutions people converge on without communication—reshaping bargaining and deterrence theory. 'Micromotives and Macrobehavior' (1978) used his checkerboard segregation model to show how modest individual preferences aggregate into sharp societal patterns.