Surely on some occasion you have heard of the Nobel Prizes. However, you may not know the criteria that are followed to choose the winners. In addition, the Nobel Prize in Economics has a series of peculiarities that you should know. Along the following lines we will explain everything you need to know about it.
What is the Nobel Prize in Economics
First of all it is important to know that the Nobel Prize in Economics is not really a “Nobel Prize”. His real name is “The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel”.
In fact, it is a different prize from the rest of this type of prize. This is because it was not part of what was originally indicated in the will of the Swedish chemist, engineer, writer, inventor and weapons manufacturer.
The Prize in Economic Sciences, as we have said, is not a Nobel Prize, although it is considered as such. In the year 1968, the Central Bank of Sweden decided to create the Series Riksbank in Economic Sciences which is given in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Since then this prize has been awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, following the same principles used to award Nobel Prizes, which have been given since 1901.
The first Nobel Prize in Economics went to Ranger Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969.
The Nobel Prize Distinction
The Nobel Prize is a prize that was created in his will by Alfred Nobel, the inventor, among others, of dynamite. The purpose of the same is to recognize and reward those people who have carried out a performance qualified as outstanding.
Specifically, the will established a series of areas in which these prizes would be awarded, such as physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature, peace … and to them was added the economy.
These prizes have been awarded annually since 1901. The award is presented to the winners by the King of Sweden. It is a very prestigious award that, in addition to its own recognition, is associated with an economic prize. The amount of the same amounts to 10 million Swedish crowns, which is, in exchange, for about one million dollars.
The objective of the award is to allow the person who has been awarded for their work to continue carrying out their respective research and work without having to worry, or at least not so much, about the economic aspect.
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Nomination and Selection Process for the Nobel Prize in Economics
Nomination for the Nobel Prize in Economics is by invitation only. In addition, the names of the people nominated and other information related to the process cannot be revealed until fifty years later.
In the process, the Economic Sciences Prize Committee is in charge of sending forms that are confidential to the people who are in a position to access the award.
Among the people who are likely to be eligible to win the prize are:
- Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- Members of the Prize Committee for the Series Riksbank Prize.
- People awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.
- Permanent professors in relevant materials in colleges and universities in Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
- Holders of chairs at a minimum of six selected colleges or universities for the relevant year.
- Other scientists that the Academy considers worthy of being eligible for the award.
Selection of winners
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for selecting the winners. The Committee is in charge of evaluating the different nominations and thus selecting the final candidates. This working body is made up of five members, although for many years it has included deputy members with voting rights.
Eligible for the Nobel Prize in Economics
Eligible candidates for the award are those who have received an invitation to do so from the Economic Sciences Award Committee. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that no person can nominate themselves.
Award winner selection process
The process followed for choosing the winners is as follows:
September – Submission of nomination forms
The Economics Prize Committee sends the forms to potential nominees. They are confidential and are sent to about 3,000 people.
February – Deadline for submission
The duly completed forms must reach the Nobel Prize Committee for Economics. They can arrive at the latest on January 31 of the following year. Between 250 and 350 people are nominated.
March – May – Consultation with experts
The Committee sends the names of the first candidates to the experts who are in charge of evaluating the work of the candidates to receive the award.
June – August – Drafting of the report
At this point, the Committee for the Nobel Prize in Economics is responsible for preparing the report with the recommendations. These are sent to the Academy.
September – Committee Recommendations
The Committee presents the report with the recommendation about the final candidates, and it is also discussed in two meetings.
October – Election of the winners
When the month of October arrives, the winners are chosen. It is carried out by majority vote, in addition to taking into account that the decision is final and that there are no appeals against it. Subsequently, the names of the winners are announced.
December – The winners receive the award
Finally, the winners receive their prize. They do so at the Nobel Prize award ceremony, which takes place on December 10 in Stockholm. There they receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Diploma, a Medal and a document confirming the economic amount they will receive.
Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Economics
The Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded since 1969. Since then, the names of the winners are as follows:
- 1969 – Ranger Frisch (1895 – 1973) and also Jan Tinbergen (1903 – 1994)
- 1970 – Paul A. Samuelson (1915-2009)
- 1971 – Simon Kuznets (1901 – 1985)
- 1972 – John R. Hicks (1904 – 1989) and also Kenneth J. Arrow (1921-2017)
- 1973 – Sassily Leontief
- 1974 – Friedrich August von Hayek and also Gunnar Myrdal (1899 – 1992)
- 1975 – Leonid Vitaliyevich Kantorovich (1912 – 1986) and also Tallying C. Koopmans (1910 – 1985)
- 1976 – Milton Friedman (1912-2006)
- 1977 – James E. Meade (1907 – 1995) and also Bertie Ohlin (1899 – 1979)
- 978 – Herbert Alexander Simon (1916 – 2001)
- 1979 – Theodore W. Schultz (1902 – 1998) and also Sir Arthur Lewis (1915 – 1991)
- 1980 – Lawrence R. Klein (1920-2013)
- 1981 – James Tobin (1918 – 2002)
- 1982 – George J. Stigler (1911 – 1991)
- 1983 – Gerard Debreu (1921)
- 1984 – Richard Stone (1913 – 1991)
- 1985 – Franco Modigliani (1918-2003)
- 1986 – James M. Buchanan Jr. (1919)
- 1987 – Robert M. Solow (1924)
- 1988 – Maurice Allais (1911)
- 1989 – Trivet Havel (1911 – 1999)
- 1990 – Harry M. Markowitz (1927), Merton H. Miller (1923 – 2000), and also William F. Sharpe (1934)
- 1991 – Ronald H. Cease (1910-2013)
- 1992 – Gary S. Becker (1930-2014)
- 1993 – Robert W. Fugal (1926-2013) and Douglass C. North (1920-2015)
- 1994 – John Forbes Nash (1928-2015), Reinhardt Sultan (1930-2016) and also John C. Haryanvi (1920 – 2000)
- 1995 – Robert E. Lucas Jr. (1937)
- 1996 – James A. Merles (1936) and also William Vickers (1914 – 1996)
- 1997 – Robert C. Merton (1944) and also Myron S. Scholes (1941)
- 1998 – Hamartia Seen (1933)
- 1999 – Robert A. Mendel (1932)
- 2000 – James J. Heckman (1944) and also Daniel L. McFadden (1937)
- 2001 – Joseph E. Stieglitz (1943), George Karloff (1940) and also A. Michael Spence (1940)
- 2002 – Daniel Hahnemann (1934) and also Vernon Smith (1927)
- 2003 – Robert F. Engle (1942) and also Clive W. J. Granger (1934)
- 2004 – Finn E. Byland (1943) and also Edward C. Prescott (1940)
- 2005 – Robert J. Baumann (1930) and also Thomas C. Schelling (1921-2016)
- 2006 – Edmund S. Phelps (1933)
- 2007 – Leonid Hurwitz (1917-2008), Eric Masking (1959) and also Roger B. Myerson (1951)
- 2008 – Paul Kurgan (1953)
- 2009 – Eli nor Nostrum (1933-2012) and also Oliver E. Williamson (1932)
- 2010 – Peter A. Diamond (1940), Dale T. Mortensen (1939-2014) and also Cristobel A. Picardie’s (1948)
- 2011 – Thomas Sargent (1943) and also Christopher A. Sims (1942)
- 2012 – Alvin E. Roth (1951) and also Lloyd Shapley
- 2013 – Eugene Fame (1939), Lars Peter Hansen (1952) and also Robert J. Sheller (1946)
- 2014 – Jean Tirol (1953)
- 2015 – Angus Deaton (1945)
- 2016 – Oliver Hart (1948) and also Bent R. Holmström (1949)
- 2017 – Richard Thales
- 2018 – Paul Roomer
- 2019 – Michael Kremer
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