2018 Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to Nordhaus and Romer

Paul Romer (right) and William Nordhaus (left)

The Nobel prize in Economics for 2018 went to two U.S. economists: Professor William Nordhaus (Yale University) and Professor Paul Romer (University of Chicago). Both economists were honored for their research on specific factors that generate sustainable long-term economic growth and wealth. Dr. Nordhaus has focused on climate change and its costs and benefits. A good part of his research deals with the sustainability of economic growth given environmental constraints. He argues for a greenhouse gas emission tax to be levied on all countries.

Dr. Romer, on the other hand, has looked at technological innovation as a key factor for sustainable long-term economic growth. His research stresses the importance of ideas in taking an economy to higher levels. In this context has considered how ideas are generated in the markets and how intellectual property rights and government subsidies for R&D can help generate more ideas. His work is at the base of what macroeconomists call endogenous growth theories.

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