Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford win Nobel memorial prize in economics

American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics on Monday. Hall is a professor at Stanford University in California, while Woodford holds a position at Columbia University in New York. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm announced the award.

The Nobel laureates' work has established a solid theoretical foundation for the models employed by central banks and governments globally, according to John Hassler, the chair of the Prize in Economic Sciences Committee. With their contributions, we are better equipped to handle economic shocks, such as energy crises or sudden shifts in household consumption patterns.

The Nobel Prize in Economics, officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968 by the central bank to honor Nobel, a 19th-century Swedish chemist and businessman who invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prizes. Despite not being an official Nobel Prize, it is presented alongside the others on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

This year's prize money amounts to 12 million Swedish kronor, or approximately $1.2 million, regardless of whether the award is given to an individual, a small group of laureates, or an organization.