3 Americans Share Nobel in Economics

Oct 15, 07:50 AM

Current Headlines: STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Americans Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for work that helps explain situations in which markets work well.

The three researchers "laid the foundations of mechanism design theory," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. "Mechanism design theory initiated by Leonid Hurwicz and further developed by Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson has greatly enhanced our understanding of optimal allocation mechanisms in such situations, accounting for individuals' incentives and private information."

Their theory allows economists, governments and businesses to "distinguish situations (that) work well from those in which they do not."

The economics award is not one of the original Nobel Prizes. It was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in Nobel's memory.

Last year American Edmund S. Phelps won the prize for explaining the relationship between inflation and unemployment, work that has had a profound impact on macroeconomics policy.

Nobel Prize winners receive 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million), a gold medal and diploma from the Swedish king on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.