Countries With The Most Nobel Laureates In Economics

The Nobel Prizes constitute a set of international awards bestowed each year on a pioneer in a number of different categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees. The Noble Prize was established by Alfred Noble in his will in 1895 and the first Noble Prizes were awarded in 1901 and have been given out since. The Noble Prize in economics was established in 1968 following a donation from Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank. It is the only one of the five Nobel Prize categories that was not established in Alfred Noble's personal will.

Countries with the most Nobel Laureates in Economics

5. Sweden, 2 Nobel Laureates in Economics

Sweden has the fifth most Noble Prize laureates in the field of economics, with two men having been awarded the honor. The first man to win the Noble Prize in economics for Sweden was Gunnar Myrdal in 1974. He won the award along with Friedrich Hayek for their pioneering work in economic fluctuations and the theory of money. Bertil Ohlin was the second and last Swede to win the award in 1977. He won the award along with James Meade for their contribution to the theories of international trade and capital movements.

4. Israel, 2 Nobel Laureates in Economics

Israel has the fourth most Noble Prize laureates in the field of economics, with two men having been awarded the honor. The first man to win the Noble Prize in economics for Israel was Daniel Kahneman in 2002. He won the award along with Vernon L. Smith. Kahneman won it for his work it integrating insights from physiological research into economic science. Robert J. Aumann was the second and last Israeli to win the award in 2005. He won the award along with Thomas C. Schelling for their work in having enhanced understanding of cooperation and conflict through game-theory analysis.

3. Norway, 3 Nobel Laureates in Economics

Norway has the third most Noble Prize laureates in the field of economics, with three men having been awarded the honor. The first man to win the Noble Prize in economics for Norway was Ragnar Frisch, who won in 1969, the first year the prize was awarded. He won the award along with Jan Tinbergen for their work in having developed and applied dynamic models for analyzing economic processes. Trygve Haavelmo was the second Norwegian ton win the award in 1989. He won for his work on the probability theory foundations of econometrics and his analysis of simultaneous economic structures. Finn E. Kydland was the last Norwegian to win the award in 2004, sharing it with Edward C. Prescott. They won for their work on dynamic macroeconomics.

2. United Kingdom, 9 Nobel Laureates in Economics

The United Kingdom has the second most Noble Prize laureates in the field of economics, with nine men having been awarded the honor. The first man with U.K. citizenship to win the Noble Prize in economics was Friedrich Hayes in 1973 and the first man born in the U.K. to win was James Meade in 1977, both of whom were touched upon earlier. Arguably, one of the most important winners of the Noble Prize in economics in recent years was from the United Kingdom. Sir Clive Granger, won the award in 2003, along with Robert F. Eagle. He won due to his methods of analyzing economic statistics, which helped to revolutionize the way economists interpret financial data and information. The last man from the United Kingdom to win the award was Angus Deaton in 2015. He won the award for his analysis of welfare, poverty and consumption.

1. United States, 47 Nobel Laureates in Economics

The United States has the by far the most Noble Prize laureates in the field of economics, with 46 men and one women having been awarded the honor. The first man to win the Noble Prize in economics for the United States was Paul Samuelson, who received the award in 1970, its second year. He won the award for his work that helped to develop static and dynamic economic theory. The only women to win the award, Elinor Ostrom, is American. She and fellow American Oliver E. Williamson won in 2009. Ostrom won for her analysis of the commons of economic governance,while Williamson's analysis focused on the boundaries of the firm. In 2013 Americans Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller were the last U.S. citizens born in America to win the award. They won it because of their work on empirical analysis of asset prices. Angus Deaton, who won in 2015, is technically the last America to win, since he also has U.S. citizenship.

Significance of the Noble Prize

The Nobel Prize has become one of the biggest awards on Earth that one can receive, but why is it seen as being so important? The Nobel Prize committee gets recommendations from the international community in each field on who should be nominated, so in many ways it is a peer reviewed process were greatness is recognized by others in ones field of work. It also gives a link to the public to comprehend rarefied scientific and academic achievements and see those who are recognized for there work.