As a memorial to Alfred Nobel, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in 1968. Based on a donation from Sweden's Riksbank, the Nobel Foundation established the prize in 1968, in honour of its 300th anniversary. Riksbank pays the prize amount, which is the same as for the Nobel Prizes.
The Nobel Prize is a set of prestigious international awards given annually in the category of Economic Sciences, along with five other categories. This is an additional award, and the first Nobel Prize for the category of Economic Sciences was awarded in 1969 to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 has been shared by three laureates: Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for their studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.
Let's learn more about the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences from 1969 to 2024.
Sweden’s central bank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, in 1968. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards this prestigious prize annually during October's Nobel announcements. This award recognises groundbreaking contributions in Economics that enhance our understanding of societal welfare.
Quick Laureates Timeline:
Here is the list of the Nobel Prize winners in the category of Economic Sciences:
| Nobel Prize Winners for the Category of Economic Sciences from 1969-2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nobel Laureates | Country | Achievements |
| 1969 | Ragnar Frisch | Norway | Developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes |
| 1969 | Jan Tinbergen | Netherlands | Developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes |
| 1970 | Paul A. Samuelson | U.S. | Scientific work through which he has developed static and dynamic economic theory and actively contributed to raising the level of analysis in Economic Science |
| 1971 | Simon Kuznets | U.S. | He developed an empirically founded interpretation of economic growth, which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and social structure and process of development. |
| 1972 | John R. Hicks | U.K. | Pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory |
| 1972 | Kenneth J. Arrow | U.S. | Pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory |
| 1973 | Wassily Leontief | U.S. | Development of the input-output method and its application to important economic problems |
| 1974 | Gunnar Myrdal | Sweden | Pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena |
| 1974 | Friedrich von Hayek | U.K. | |
| 1975 | Leonid Vitaliyevich Kantorovich | U.S.S.R | Contributions to the theory of optimum allocation of resources |
| 1975 | Tjalling C. Koopmans | U.S. | Contributions to the theory of optimum allocation of resources |
| 1976 | Milton Friedman | U.S. | Achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilisation policy |
| 1977 | Bertil Ohlin | Sweden | Pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements |
| 1977 | James E. Meade | U.K. | Pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements |
| 1978 | Herbert Simon | U.S. | Pioneering research into the decision-making process within economic organisations |
| 1979 | Theodore W. Schultz | U.S. | Pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries |
| 1979 | Sir Arthur Lewis | U.K. | Pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries |
| 1980 | Lawrence R. Klein | U.S. | Creation of econometric models and the application to the analysis of economic fluctuations and economic policies |
| 1981 | James Tobin | U.S. | Analysis of financial markets and their relations to expenditure decisions, employment, production and prices |
| 1982 | George J. Stigler | U.S. | Seminal studies of industrial structures, functioning of markets and causes and effects of public regulation |
| 1983 | Gerard Debreu | U.S. | Incorporated new analytical methods into economic theory and for his rigorous reformulation of the theory of general equilibrium |
| 1984 | Richard Stone | U.K. | Fundamental contributions to the development of systems of national accounts and hence greatly improved the basis for empirical economic analysis |
| 1985 | Franco Modigliani | U.S. | Pioneering analyses of saving and of financial markets |
| 1986 | James M. Buchanan Jr. | U.S. | Development of the contractual and constitutional bases for the theory of economic and political decision-making |
| 1987 | Robert M. Solow | U.S. | Contributions to the theory of economic growth |
| 1988 | Maurice Allais | France | Pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilisation of resources |
| 1989 | Trygve Haavelmo | Norway | Clarification of the probability theory foundations of econometrics and his analyses of simultaneous economic structures |
| 1990 | Harry M. Markowitz | U.S. | Pioneering work in the theory of financial economics |
| 1990 | Merton H. Miller | U.S. | Pioneering work in the theory of financial economics |
| 1990 | William F. Sharpe | U.S. | Pioneering work in the theory of financial economics |
1991 | Ronald H. Coase | U.S. | Discovery and clarification of the significance of transaction costs and property rights for the institutional structure and functioning of the economy |
1992 | Gary Becker | U.S. | Having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interaction, including non-market behaviour |
| 1993 | Robert W. Fogel | U.S. | Renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods to explain economic and institutional change |
| 1993 | Douglass C. North | U.S. | Renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods to explain economic and institutional change |
| 1994 | John C. Harsanyi | U.S. | Pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games |
| 1994 | John F. Nash Jr. | U.S. | Pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games |
| 1994 | Reinhard Selten | Germany | Pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games |
1995 | Robert E. Lucas Jr | U.S. | Developed and applied the hypothesis of rational expectations, thereby transforming macroeconomic analysis and deepening our understanding of economic policy |
| 1996 | James A. Mirrlees | U.K. | Fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information |
| 1996 | William Vickrey | U.S. | Fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information |
| 1997 | Robert C. Merton | U.S. | A new method to determine the value of derivatives |
| 1997 | Myron Scholes | U.S. | A new method to determine the value of derivatives |
| 1998 | Amartya Sen | India | Contributions to Welfare Economics |
1999 | Robert Mundell | Canada | Analysis of monetary and fiscal policy under different exchange rate regimes and his analysis of optimum currency areas |
| 2000 | Daniel L. McFadden | U.S. | Development of theory and methods for analysing discrete choice |
| 2000 | James J. Heckman | U.S. | Development of theory and methods for analysing selective samples |
| 2001 | George A. Akerlof | U.S. | Analyses of markets with asymmetric information |
| 2001 | A. Michael Spence | U.S. | Analyses of markets with asymmetric information |
| 2001 | Joseph E. Stiglitz | U.S. | Analyses of markets with asymmetric information |
2002 | Vernon L. Smith | U.S. | Having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms |
2002 | Daniel Kahneman | U.S. | For having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty |
| 2003 | Clive W.J. Granger | U.K. | For methods of analysing economic time series with common trends (cointegration) |
| 2003 | Robert F. Engle III | U.S. | For methods of analysing economic time series with time-varying volatility (ARCH) |
2004 | Finn E. Kydland | Norway | Contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles |
2004 | Edward C. Prescott | U.S. | Contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles |
| 2005 | Robert J. Aumann | Israel | Enhancing the understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis |
| 2005 | Thomas C. Schelling | U.S. | Enhancing the understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis |
| 2006 | Edmund S. Phelps | U.S. | Analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy |
| 2007 | Leonid Hurwicz | U.S. | The foundations of mechanism design theory |
| 2007 | Eric S. Maskin | U.S. | The foundations of mechanism design theory |
| 2007 | Roger B. Myerson | U.S. | The foundations of mechanism design theory |
| 2008 | Paul Krugman | U.S. | Analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity |
| 2009 | Oliver E. Williamson | U.S. | Analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm |
| 2009 | Elinor Ostrom | U.S. | Analysis of economic governance, especially the commons |
| 2010 | Peter A. Diamond | U.S. | Analysis of markets with search frictions |
| 2010 | Dale T. Mortensen | U.S. | Analysis of markets with search frictions |
| 2010 | Christopher A. Pissarides | U.K. | Analysis of markets with search frictions |
| 2011 | Thomas J. Sargent | U.S. | Empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy |
| 2011 | Christopher A. Sims | U.S. | Empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy |
| 2012 | Alvin E. Roth | U.S. | Theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design |
| 2012 | Lloyd S. Shapley | U.S. | Theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design |
| 2013 | Eugene F. Fama | U.S. | Empirical analysis of asset prices |
| 2013 | Lars Peter Hansen | U.S. | Empirical analysis of asset prices |
| 2013 | Robert J. Shiller | U.S. | Empirical analysis of asset prices |
| 2014 | Jean Tirole | France | Analysis of market power and regulation |
| 2015 | Angus Deaton | U.K. | Analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare |
| 2016 | Oliver Hart | U.K. | Contributions to contract theory |
| 2016 | Bengt Holmström | Finland | Contributions to contract theory |
| 2017 | Richard H. Thaler | U.S. | Contributions to behavioural economics |
| 2018 | Paul M. Romer | U.S. | Integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis |
| 2018 | William D. Nordhaus | U.S. | Integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis |
| 2019 | Esther Duflo | U.S. | Experimental approach to alleviating global poverty |
| 2019 | Abhijit Banerjee | U.S. | Experimental approach to alleviating global poverty |
| 2019 | Michael Kremer | U.S. | Experimental approach to alleviating global poverty |
| 2020 | Paul R. Milgrom | U.S. | Improvements to auction theory and invention of new auction formats |
| 2020 | Robert B. Wilson | U.S. | Improvements to auction theory and invention of new auction formats |
| 2021 | Joshua D. Angrist | U.S. | Methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships |
| 2021 | Guido W. Imbens | U.S. | Methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships |
| 2021 | David Card | U.S. | Empirical contributions to labour economics |
| 2022 | Ben Bernanke | U.S. | Research on banks and financial crises |
| 2022 | Douglas Diamond | U.S. | Research on banks and financial crises |
| 2022 | Philip Dybvig | U.S. | Research on banks and financial crises |
| 2023 | Claudia Goldin | U.S. | Having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes |
| 2024 | Daron Acemoglu | U.S. | Studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity |
| 2024 | Simon Johnson | U.K./U.S. | Studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity |
| 2024 | James A. Robinson | U.S. | Studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity |
*Note:
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has made a profound impact on how we think about markets, money and making decisions.
Sweden's central bank established the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1968. This award recognises Economic laureates whose research has transformed both theoretical and practical approaches to global finance, economic behaviour and monetary systems.
List of Nobel Economic Sciences winners who have transformed our understanding of money:
| Nobel Laureates: | Gunnar Myrdal and Friedrich von Hayek |
| Year: | 1974 |
| Key Contribution: | Price signals and spontaneous order |
| Major Work: | Warned against central planning, famously debating KeynesianismInfluential in shaping modern libertarian and conservative economic thoughtAdvocated for free-market capitalism, arguing that decentralised price systems are the best way to allocate resources |
| Nobel Laureates: | Milton Friedman |
| Year: | 1976 |
| Key Contribution: | Monetarism |
| Major Work: | A Monetary History of the United States (with Anna Schwartz)Advocated for predictable monetary policies instead of discretionary interventionsChallenged Keynesian orthodoxy by emphasising the role of money supply in controlling inflationHis ideas influenced central banking practices, especially the U.S. Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker |
| Nobel Laureates: | Robert Mundell |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Key Contribution: | Foundations of modern international macroeconomics |
| Relevance: | Laid the groundwork for understanding currency unions and monetary integration |
| Major Work: | Developed the Mundell-Fleming model, which analysed the interaction between exchange rates, interest rates, and capital mobilityKnown as the “father of the euro” for his work on optimum currency areas |
| Nobel Laureates: | Daniel Kahneman |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Key Contribution: | Behavioural economics |
| Real-World Impact: | Influences everything from retirement savings design to public policy "nudges" |
| Major Work: | Introduced concepts like loss aversion, prospect theory, and framing effects, reshaping our understanding of consumer and investor behaviourIt was demonstrated that cognitive biases often lead people to make irrational financial decisions. |
| Nobel Laureates: | Bengt Holmström and Oliver Hart |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Key Contribution: | Contract theory |
| Major Work: | Corporate governance, executive pay, public-private partnershipsApplicable to finance, employment, and even government procurementDeveloped models explaining how contracts structure incentives between individuals and firms |
| Nobel Laureates: | Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Key Contribution: | Institutions and economic prosperity |
| Major Work: | Their work explains why nations with similar resources can diverge economicallyArgued that inclusive institutions lead to sustainable growth, while extractive ones stifle itDemonstrated how political and economic institutions determine nations’ long-term economic outcomes |
How have these Economic laureates and their achievements changed the World?
These laureates helped answer questions like:
The Nobel Prize, or Nobel Award, stands as a globally recognised symbol of excellence, glorifying individuals and organisations whose work has significantly improved humanity's well-being.
The Nobel Award is a prestigious collection of five international awards delivered every year to praise and celebrate remarkable contributions across a range of fields. These fields include
Sveriges Riksbank officially established the Nobel Prize for the Economic Sciences category in 1968, honouring Alfred Nobel's memory. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, and based on the fortune of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor and entrepreneur.
Here are some key facts about the Nobel Prize in the category of Economic Sciences:
Fact No. 1:
The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences category was not one of the original five Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel in 1895. It was the Nobel Memorial Prize established in 1968 by Sveriges Riksbank on its 300th anniversary.
Fact No. 2:
The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences category was officially established in 1968. However, the first prize was awarded in 1969.
Fact No. 3:
The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences category is open to individuals of any nationality and is typically awarded to living economists (rarely posthumously).
Fact No. 4:
Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen won the first Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 1969 for their work in econometrics.
Fact No. 5:
The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences category is mainly awarded for outstanding contributions to the field of economics. This award recognises theoretical advances and empirical research.
Fact No. 6:
Among the 56 Nobel Prize for the Economic Sciences category, 3 were female Economic Sciences laureates
Fact No. 7:
According to the source, the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences category has been awarded 56 times to 96 laureates between 1969 and 2024
Fact No. 8:
Esther Duflo was the youngest Economic Sciences laureate to receive the Nobel Prize at the age of 46. Leonid Hurwicz was the oldest Economic Sciences laureate to receive the Nobel Prize at the age of 90.
Fact No. 9:
The Components of the Nobel Prize for the Economic Sciences category consist of
Fact No. 10:
The selection process for the Laureates begins with:
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is a symbol of recognition for groundbreaking insights that have shaped our understanding of economies, institutions, markets, and human behaviour.
Despite not being one of Alfred Nobel's original prizes, the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences category has developed into one of the most significant global recognitions in Economics by:
Nobel laureates have redefined how we view money, decision-making, and prosperity. Their research moves beyond academia:
As a result of the Nobel Prize, individuals are celebrated in addition to their achievements and encourage a more profound understanding of the factors that govern economic life. It is people, institutions, and rules that define opportunity in an increasingly globalised world.
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To learn more about the legacy of the Nobel Prize, its award winners, and the Nobel Prizes in Economic Sciences, please read our blogs.
No, the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences was not established by Alfred Nobel.
The Sveriges Riksbank officially established the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 1968, in honour of Alfred Nobel.
No. There have been no posthumous prizes in the Economic Sciences.
Since 1974, the Nobel Foundation's statutes stipulate that a prize cannot be awarded posthumously unless death occurs after its announcement.
Sveriges Riksbank is often referred to as the Riksbank. Established in 1668, the Riksbank of Sweden holds the title of being the world's oldest central bank.
Sveriges Riksbank is the oldest central bank in Sweden. It is responsible for maintaining price stability through monetary policy and also covers administrative expenses related to the award.
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prize that has been awarded since 1901.
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