Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

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The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Awarded for Outstanding contributions in Economic Sciences

Location Stockholm, Sweden

Presented by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Reward(s) 9 million SEK (2017)[1]

First awarded 1969

Currently held by Paul Romer and William Nordhaus (2018)

Website nobelprize.org

← 2016

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (officially Swedish: Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk
vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne, official English name: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic
Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel),[2][3][4][5] commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in
Economics,[6] is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, and generally
regarded as the most prestigious award for that field.[7]

The prize was established in 1968 by a donation from Sweden's central bank Sveriges Riksbank to the
Nobel Foundation to commemorate the bank's 300th anniversary.[7][8][9][10] Although it is not a Nobel
Prize, it is referred to along with the other Nobel Prizes by the Nobel Foundation.[11] Laureates are
announced with the other Nobel Prize laureates, and receive the award at the same ceremony.[7]

Laureates in the Memorial Prize in Economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences.[12][13] It was first awarded in 1969 to the Dutch and Norwegian economists Jan Tinbergen
and Ragnar Frisch, "for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic
processes".[10][14][15]
Contents

1 Creation and funding

1.1 Relation to the Nobel Prizes

2 Award nomination and selection process

3 Laureates

4 Awards to non-economists

5 Controversies and criticisms

6 Alternative names

7 See also

8 Notes

9 References

10 External links

Creation and funding

An endowment "in perpetuity" from Sveriges Riksbank pays the Nobel Foundation's administrative
expenses associated with the prize and funds the monetary component of the award.[12]

Since 2012, the monetary portion of the Prize in Economics has totaled 8 million Swedish kronor. This is
equivalent to the amount given for the original Nobel Prizes.[16][17][18] Since 2006, Sveriges Riksbank
has given the Nobel Foundation an annual grant of 6.5 million Swedish kronor (in January 2008, approx.
US$1 million; 0.7 million Euro) for its administrative expenses associated with the prize as well as 1
million Swedish kronor (until the end of 2008) to include information about the prize in the Nobel
Foundation's internet webpage.[19]

Relation to the Nobel Prizes

The Prize in Economics is not one of the Nobel Prizes, which were endowed by Alfred Nobel in his
will.[7][20][21] However, the nomination process, selection criteria, and awards presentation of the
Prize in Economic Sciences are performed in a manner similar to that of the Nobel Prizes.[12][17][22]
Laureates are announced with the Nobel Prize laureates, and receive the award at the same
ceremony.[7] The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the prize "in accordance with the rules
governing the award of the Nobel Prizes instituted through his [Alfred Nobel's] will,"[12] which stipulate
that the prize be awarded annually to "those who ... shall have conferred the greatest benefit on
mankind."[23]

Award nomination and selection process

Main article: Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Announcement of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 2008

According to its official website, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences "administers a researcher
exchange with academies in other countries and publishes six scientific journals. Every year the
Academy awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic
Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the Crafoord Prize and a number of other large prizes".[13]

Each September the Academy's Economics Prize Committee, which consists of five elected members,
"sends invitations to thousands of scientists, members of academies and university professors in
numerous countries, asking them to nominate candidates for the Prize in Economics for the coming
year. Members of the Academy and former laureates are also authorised to nominate
candidates."[12][13][24] All proposals and their supporting evidence must be received before February
1.[21] The proposals are reviewed by the Prize Committee and specially appointed experts. Before the
end of September, the committee chooses potential laureates. If there is a tie, the chairman of the
committee casts the deciding vote. Next, the potential laureates must be approved by the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences. Members of the Ninth Class (the social sciences division) of the Academy
vote in mid-October to determine the next laureate or laureates of the Prize in Economics.[12][13][25]
As with the Nobel Prizes, no more than three people can share the prize for a given year; they must still
be living at the time of the Prize announcement in October; and information about Prize nominations
cannot be disclosed publicly for 50 years.[21]