Nordhaus and Romer share 2018 Economic Prize in Memory of Alfred Nobel

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Oct. 8,(Greenpost)– Goran Hansson has announced that The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018 was divided equally between William D. Nordhaus “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis” and Paul M. Romer “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”

 

At its heart, economics deals with the management of scarce resources. Nature dictates the main constraints on economic growth and our knowledge determines how well we deal with these constraints. This year’s Laureates William Nordhaus and Paul Romer have significantly broadened the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge.

Technological change – Romer demonstrates how knowledge can function as a driver of long-term economic growth. When annual economic growth of a few per cent accumulates over decades, it transforms people’s lives. Previous macroeconomic research had emphasised technological innovation as the primary driver of economic growth, but had not modelled how economic decisions and market conditions determine the creation of new technologies. Paul Romer solved this problem by demonstrating how economic forces govern the willingness of firms to produce new ideas and innovations.

Romer’s solution, which was published in 1990, laid the foundation of what is now called endogenous growth theory. The theory is both conceptual and practical, as it explains how ideas are different to other goods and require specific conditions to thrive in a market. Romer’s theory has generated vast amounts of new research into the regulations and policies that encourage new ideas and long-term prosperity.

Climate change – Nordhaus’ findings deal with interactions between society and nature. Nordhaus decided to work on this topic in the 1970s, as scientists had become increasingly worried about the combustion of fossil fuel resulting in a warmer climate. In the mid-1990s, he became the first person to create an integrated assessment model, i.e. a quantitative model that describes the global interplay between the economy and the climate. His model integrates theories and empirical results from physics, chemistry and economics. Nordhaus’ model is now widely spread and is used to simulate how the economy and the climate co-evolve. It is used to examine the consequences of climate policy interventions, for example carbon taxes.

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. 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 Laureates

William D. Nordhaus, born 1941 in Albuquerque, USA. Ph.D. in 1967 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University, New Haven, USA.

Paul M. Romer, born 1955 in Denver, USA. Ph.D. in 1983 from University of Chicago, USA. Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, New York, USA.

今日头条:两名美国经济学家分享2018纪念诺贝尔经济学奖

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)– 瑞典皇家科学院常务秘书悦然.汉松8日宣布,2018年纪念诺贝尔经济学奖授予美国经济学家威廉.诺德豪斯和保尔.罗马尔, 因为他们把创新和气候变化与经济增长一体化研究了。

汉松说,诺德豪斯获奖的原因是把气候变化和长期宏观经济分析联系在一起。而保罗.罗马尔获奖的原因是他把技术创新与长期宏观经济分析联系在一起。

诺奖委员主席佩尔.斯特罗姆贝认为,诺德豪斯和罗马尔设计了解决我们这个时代最基本的最紧迫的如何创造长期可持续的经济增长的方法。

最根本的是经济学实际上是如何管理稀缺的资源。自然控制者经济增长。2018年纪念诺贝尔经济学奖可以说是实至名归,没有任何争议。

乌普萨拉大学经济学教授爱娃.墨克在接受本网记者采访时说,今年的纪念诺贝尔经济学奖得主的发现不但在理论上成立而且在实际应用中也是非常实用的,为政策制定者提供了很好的政策参考工具。例如,诺德豪斯的理论中就是用税收来作为杠杆来控制资源和环境是使用,使其与经济发展达到最佳平衡。力求要让人类不在发展过程中超越地球温度升高两度的底线。

罗马尔的技术创新与宏观经济分析也是促进经济可持续增长的很好的工具。因此,今年的纪念诺贝尔经济学奖得主的发现非常重要,为各国经济可持续发展提供了分析工具。

罗马尔在回答北欧绿色邮报网记者提问时说,他没有意料到自己会得奖,他开始听到两次电话铃响,以为是无用销售电话,所以,没有接电话,但是,到第三次铃响,才开始接听电话。

他说,他是个乐观主义者,他认为人类在挑战面前应该是懂得做出正确的选择的。

诺奖得主将在诺贝尔的忌日12月10日从瑞典国王手中接过诺贝尔奖。诺贝尔和平奖将在奥斯陆颁发,其他奖项都在瑞典颁发。

这是今年宣布的最后一个奖项纪念诺贝尔经济学奖。此前已经宣布诺贝尔医学奖得主是美国科学家詹姆斯.艾立森和日本科学家Tasuku Honjo, 因为他们发现了抑制负免疫调节机制的癌症疗法。

10月2日美国科学家艾立森,和法国出生但工作在美国的缪娄和加拿大的多娜.斯特里克兰分享了2018诺贝尔物理学奖,前者一半,后两位分享另一半奖金。

10月3日,瑞典皇家科学院宣布,2018诺贝尔化学奖一半授予美国加州理工学院女科学家Frances, H. Arnold(B.1956),因为他发现了酶的指定向进化,另一半授予美国密苏里大学教授George P. Smith(b,1941)和英国MRC英国剑桥分子实验室的Sir Gregory P. Winter(b.1951),因为他们发现了肽和抗体的噬菌体展现美国科学家

10月4日,诺贝尔文学奖因为评奖单位瑞典文学院早些时候报出丑闻,与一个有性侵行为的人有瓜葛,结果瑞典文学院被迫停止今年的诺贝尔文学奖评审。性侵者已经于近日获判2年期的有期徒刑。

10月5日,挪威诺贝尔委员会秘书贝利特.赖斯-安德森宣布2018诺贝尔和平奖由刚果(金)医生丹尼斯.穆奎哥和伊拉克女性主义者纳迪.穆拉德分享。因为他们为结束性暴力作为战争和武装冲突的武器而做出的努力。

所有获奖者都将在诺贝尔的忌日12月10日从瑞典国王手中接过诺贝尔奖。但诺贝尔和平奖将在奥斯陆颁发,其他奖项都在瑞典颁发。

今年诺奖的奖金是900万瑞典克朗。