The 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to two American economists and one Canadian economist for addressing important societal questions through natural experiments.
During a press conference on October 11, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The prize, valued at 10 million Swedish kronor (approximately 2.6 billion VND), is divided into two parts.
Three economists from Canada and the United States won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
The first part was awarded to Canadian economist David Card, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, for his contributions to labor economics through experimentation.
The remaining portion was awarded to two American economists, Joshua D. Angrist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Guido W. Imbens from Stanford University, for their contributions to methodological approaches in analyzing causal relationships.
Using natural experiments since the early 1990s, David Card analyzed the impacts of minimum wage, immigration, and education on the labor market. His research findings indicated that increasing the minimum wage does not necessarily lead to fewer jobs.
Meanwhile, economists Guido W. Imbens and Joshua D. Angrist developed a theoretical framework that accurately identifies causal conclusions that can be drawn from natural experiments. By clarifying the necessary assumptions to establish causal relationships, this theoretical framework has enhanced the transparency and reliability of empirical research. It has been widely applied by scientists working with observational data.
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is not mentioned in the will of Swedish scientist and millionaire Alfred Nobel. In fact, the official name of this prize is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. It was established by the Swedish central bank in 1968 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the bank’s founding.
Each year, the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded to one or more individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of economic science. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects the Nobel Prize winners in Economic Sciences following principles similar to those for other Nobel Prizes. However, the prize money is funded by Sveriges Riksbank.
From 1969 to 2020, the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded 52 times to 86 laureates. The majority of recipients have been American economists, and only two women have ever received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. In 2020, American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their discovery of theories that improved auction processes and invented new auction formats.
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