The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022 was awarded to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, Philip H. Dybvig “for research on banks and financial crises”.
Key points
- The Nobel Prize for Economics-the last of announcements for this year, has gone to the three individuals for their role in research related to how banks function.
- This year’s laureates in economic sciences have significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises.
- An important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital.
- “Modern banking research clarifies why we have banks, how to make them less vulnerable in crises and how bank collapses exacerbate financial crises. The foundations of this research were laid by Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig in the early 1980s. Their analyses have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in its press release.
- Bernanke was the head of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, when the 2008 crisis hit, and was able to “put knowledge from research into policy,” the Academy said.
Number of prizes in economic sciences
- In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established this prize in memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.
- 54 prizes in economic sciences have been awarded 1969-2022.
- 25 prizes in economic sciences have been awarded to one laureate only.
- 2 women have been awarded the prize in economic sciences so far, Elinor Ostrom, in 2009 and Esther Duflo, in 2019.
- 46 years was the age of Esther Duflo when she was awarded the prize – the youngest economic sciences laureate ever.
- 90 years old was Leonid Hurwicz when he was awarded the prize – the oldest economic sciences laureate ever.
