Nobel Prize for Economics, 2020

The Nobel Prize for Economics, 2020 was awarded to Paul R Milogrom and Robert B Wilson. They were awarded for improvements to Auction Theory and also for inventing new auction formats. The prize is also called Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The theory formulated by Milgrom allowed calculating common and private values that vary from bidder to bidder.

Highlights

The prize has been awarded 51 times to 84 Laureates between 1969 and 2019. By rule, nobel prize cannot be shared by more than three laureates.

About the Prize

The Nobel Economic Prize was established in 1968 by a donation from the central bank of Sweden Sveriges Riksbank to the Nobel Foundation. It is not one of the prizes that were established by Alfred Nobel in 1895. But still It is administered and referred to Nobel Prize.

What is Auction Theory?

It is an applied branch of economics that speaks of people action in auction markets. It deals with how people research the properties of auction markets. The theory is more suited for auctions for privatization of public-sector companies or sale of electromagnetic spectrum.

Is the Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to non-economists?

YES. In 1995, the Nobel Prize for Economics was warded to John Forbes Nash. He was a mathematician who made contributions towards differential geometry, game theory and study of partial differential equations. He is the only person to receive Abel Prize and the Nobel Prize for Economics. He was awarded with the Nobel Prize for his work on non-linear differential equations. It was in 1995, for the first time, the Nobel Prize for Economics was redefined as a prize in social science.

The first time, a non-economist Herbert A Simon received the prize in 1978. He was a PhD holder in political Science. Also, Daniel Kahneman, a professor of psychology won the nobel prize for economics.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020