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On Monday, three economists from the United States were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their work on inferring conclusions from unplanned experiments, or “natural experiments.”
One half of the prize was given to David Card of the University of California at Berkeley, and the other half was split between Joshua Angrist of MIT and Guido Imbens of Stanford University.
The three have “totally changed empirical work in the economic sciences,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
“Card’s research of critical societal issues, as well as Angrist and Imbens’ methodological contributions, have demonstrated that natural experiments are a rich source of knowledge,” said Peter Fredriksson, chair of the Economic Sciences Committee. “Their study has significantly increased our ability to answer fundamental causal issues, which has had a significant societal benefit.”
The economics prize, unlike the other Nobel awards, was founded in Alfred Nobel’s memory by the Swedish central bank in 1968, with the first laureate announced a year later. Every year, it is the final reward to be announced.
Last week, journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia were given the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 for their fight for freedom of expression in nations where journalists have been subjected to repeated attacks, harassment, and even murder.
Ressa was the only woman recognised in any category this year.
Abdulrazak Gurnah, a Tanzanian writer resident in the United Kingdom, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his “uncompromising and humane comprehension of the ravages of colonialism and the fate of the refugee.”
David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian of the United States won the prize for physiology or medicine for their research on how the human body detects temperature and touch.
Three physicists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for work that helped explain and anticipate complex natural phenomena, including climate change.
The chemistry prize went to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for discovering a faster and more environmentally friendly approach to manufacture molecules that can be used to make drugs and pesticides.
