Nobelpreis-Vergabe: Gegen Auf und Ab der Wirtschaft: Nobelpreis für US-Forscher

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded this year to US researchers Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford for their work on the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilization. The King's Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm announced the decision. Hall, who is 83 years old and based at Stanford University, and Woodford, 1955-born and working at Columbia University, developed models that help governments and central banks effectively mitigate economic fluctuations.

Speaking of the prize, Woodford expressed that it was a "tremendous honor" and a surprise. The chairman of the prize jury, John Hassler, noted that the researchers provided a solid theoretical foundation for the models used by central banks and governments worldwide today. He said that the models have proven to be extremely helpful in managing economic downturns.

The researchers' models suggest that households and companies act proactively when making decisions, such as saving. By communicating their plans, governments and central banks can influence outcomes and steer the economy in the right direction. For instance, central banks may provide financial market signals about future interest rates.

Keynesian economics, which has long been a central part of economic policy, posits that government spending and tax cuts can stimulate the economy during recessions. However, Keynesianism faced criticism during the 1970s oil crises, as it failed to reduce unemployment and instead led to excessive inflation. The jury acknowledged that the Keynesian approach had lost credibility.

Hall and Woodford created new models, rebuilding stabilization policy on a microeconomic foundation instead of relying on statistical relationships between macroeconomic variables like inflation, production, and consumption. Since the introduction of these models, they have proven helpful in managing economic downturns, according to the jury.