American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics. They were honored for “the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilization“, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced.
Hall is a professor at Stanford University and Woodford teaches at Columbia University. According to the academy, the two have developed macroeconomic models that improve the possibilities for conducting effective stabilization policies.
“With these models, timely fiscal and monetary measures can smooth out peaks and troughs in economic development“, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. This refers to the tools through which governments and central banks respond to recessions, inflationary pressures and other economic shocks.
The prize is divided equally
The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor. Hall and Woodford will each receive 6 million kronor. The award ceremony will take place in Stockholm on 10 December.
The official name of the prize is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. It was established by the Sveriges Riksbank in 1968 and was first awarded a year later. Unlike the prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace, the prize in economics was not established directly in Alfred Nobel's will.