A Prize in ‘Economic Sciences’

Abstract

This chapter discusses the significance of a Nobel Prize in economics. In a turbulent world, the prizes that Alfred Nobel endowed in 1895 shine as beacons of enduring value. They signal that effort, integrity, and success in pursuit of truth can earn mighty acclaim. In 1968, the Swedish central bank persuaded the Nobel Foundation to add a prize in economics, identical in all but name to those in science, literature, and peace. For a paltry investment, it extended the aura of Nobel authority to the discipline of economics. It was an entrepreneurial move worthy of Alfred Nobel himself. Like Nobel's invention of dynamite, the economic prize was a force with potential for good but also for harm. But how does one think of economics as science? Specialists in scientific method, practising economists, and Nobel Prize winners tell different stories. This matters when we look to economics for policy advice.