Yale University professor William D. Nordhaus and NYU professor Paul M. Romer have been jointly awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018.
Both Nordhaus and Romer’s work broadened the scope of the field and focused on the creation of long-term sustained and sustainable economic growth.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nordhaus began studying the interaction between nature and the economy in the ’70s, and he was the first person to create a quantitative model that focuses on how the climate and economy affect each other. If his name is familiar to most former students it is because he co-wrote the widely used introductory textbook ‘Economics’ with Paul Samuelson. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded Sterling Professorship at Yale, the highest academic rank at the university. (See also: 5 Nobel Prize-Winning Economic Theories You Should Know About)
Romer’s research demonstrated how innovation, which drives long-term economic growth, requires conducive policies and market forces. He laid the foundation for what came to be known as the endogenous growth theory. The Denver, Colorado native earned a B.S. in mathematics and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago.
“The contributions of Paul Romer and William Nordhaus are methodological, providing us with fundamental insights into the causes and consequences of technological innovation and climate change,” said the press release. “This year’s Laureates do not deliver conclusive answers, but their findings have brought us considerably closer to answering the question of how we can achieve sustained and sustainable global economic growth.”
The awardees will share the 9 million Swedish krona ($988,740) prize. (See also: Where Does the Nobel Prize Money Come From?)
Laureate William Nordhaus’ research shows that the most efficient remedy for problems caused by greenhouse gas emissions is a global scheme of carbon taxes uniformly imposed on all countries. The diagram shows CO2 emissions for four climate policies according to his simulations. pic.twitter.com/tmxUE6MiLn
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 8, 2018