Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
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Nobel Prize Medal
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| Presented by | Nobel Foundation, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Country | Sweden |
| Reward | 12 million Swedish kronor (2026) |
| First awarded | 1968 |
| Currently held by | |
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, often called the Nobel Prize in Economics, is a world-famous award. It honors brilliant minds in the study of economic sciences. The award is run by the famous Nobel Foundation. Its official name is The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, started this award in 1968. The bank celebrated its 300th birthday and wanted to honor the inventor Alfred Nobel.
Even though it was not one of the original awards created by Alfred Nobel, it follows the same traditions. Winners of this prize are called laureates. They are chosen just like winners of other Nobel Prize categories. They are announced at the same time and attend the grand ceremony. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences picks the winners every year. This is the very same group that chooses the winners for the prizes in Physics and Chemistry. The very first award was given in 1969 to Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch. They built mathematical models to explain how money and markets change over time.
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How the Economics Prize Was Created
The story of this award began long after the other prizes started. Alfred Nobel died in 1896 and left money in his will for five prizes. Those prizes were for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. In 1968, the central bank of Sweden, known as Sveriges Riksbank, wanted to do something special. They donated a huge fund to the Nobel Foundation to celebrate economics.
This permanent donation covers the prize money for the winners every year. It also pays for the costs of running the award. The cash prize given to the economics winners matches the value of the other prizes. For example, winners receive millions of Swedish kronor, which equals a large sum in US$ or €. Because the money comes from the central bank, people often call it a memorial prize rather than an original prize.
Connection to the Original Nobel Prizes
Even with its unique beginning, the prize works closely alongside the classic Nobel Prize family. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences follows strict rules written in Alfred Nobel's original will. The main rule states that winners must have helped mankind in an outstanding way.
The laureates get to travel to Stockholm in Sweden. They join the winners of the other categories for a week of celebrations. They give lectures, meet students, and attend magnificent banquets. By treating this prize like the others, the world recognizes economics as a vital science that shapes everyday human life.
How Winners Are Nominated and Selected
Choosing the winners is a long and careful process that takes over a year. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences leads this big job. The Academy is an independent scientific organization. Besides picking winners for the Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, it runs international science programs and awards the Crafoord Prize.
To find the best thinkers, the Academy forms an Economics Prize Committee with five elected members. Every September, the committee sends out thousands of private letters. These letters go to leading researchers, university professors, and former winners around the world. The recipients are invited to nominate candidates for the next award. The committee does not allow people to nominate themselves.
Choosing the Best Thinkers
All nomination letters must arrive before February 1. After that, the committee reads every suggestion and consults outside experts. They look closely at each researcher's discoveries to see how they changed our understanding of the world. By late September, the committee writes a detailed report and chooses the top candidates. If the committee members ever tie in a vote, their chairman breaks the tie.
In mid-October, the entire Academy meets to make the final vote. There are strict rules for the decision. A prize can be shared by at most three living people each year. The prize cannot be given to someone who has already passed away. Furthermore, all nomination records and secret discussions are locked away in archives for 50 years.
The Big Award Ceremony
Every year on December 10, a huge event takes place in Stockholm. This date marks the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel. Like the great thinkers honored in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, the economics winners take the stage.
Each laureate steps forward to meet the King of Sweden. The king hands them a special diploma with unique artwork, a heavy gold medal, and a document for their money award. Winning this medal is considered one of the highest honors any researcher can achieve in their entire lifetime.
Famous Laureates and Important Ideas
Over the years, many brilliant people have won the prize for solving big puzzles about human choices. When Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen won the first prize in 1969, they showed how numbers help explain jobs and trade. Since then, dozens of experts have joined their ranks.
Women have also made major contributions to the award. Elinor Ostrom won the prize in 2009 for showing how communities can share natural resources like forests and rivers fairly. In 2019, Esther Duflo became the youngest person to win the prize for her work fighting global poverty. In 2023, Claudia Goldin won the award alone for uncovering centuries of facts about women working in the economy.
Awards to Other Fields of Study
Economics is not just about banks, math, and coins. It is also about how people think, make choices, and live together. In 1994, mathematician John Forbes Nash shared the award for his brilliant ideas on strategy and decision-making. After that time, the prize opened up even more to other fields across the social sciences.
Experts who studied other topics began winning the medal. In 1978, Herbert A. Simon, who held a PhD in political science, won the prize for exploring how organizations make decisions. Later, political scientists like Elinor Ostrom and James Robinson earned the prize for explaining how social rules and governments help societies grow. A famous professor from Princeton University, Daniel Kahneman, won the award for his work in behavioral economics. He showed how human feelings and thinking habits affect the way people spend money.
The Names of the Prize Over Time
The official name of the award is quite long: the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Because it was created separately from the original will, leaders discussed how to name it clearly. Over the decades, its English name changed several times in official records.
| Year(s) | English names |
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| 1969–1970 | Prize in Economic Science dedicated to the memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1971 | Prize in Economic Science |
| 1972 | Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1973–1975 | Prize in Economic Science in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1976–1977 | Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1978–1981 | Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences |
| 1982 | Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science |
| 1983 | Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1984–1990 | Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences |
| 1991 | Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 1992–2005 | Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
| 2006–present | The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel |
Even with these name changes, newspapers, teachers, and students almost always call it the Nobel Prize in Economics.
See also
In Spanish: Premio de Economía Conmemorativo de Alfred Nobel para niños
- List of economics awards
- List of Nobel laureates by country
- List of prizes known as the Nobel of a field
- List of prizes named after people
- Mont Pelerin Society
