US-based academics win Nobel Economics Prize

Three US-based academics won the Nobel Economics Prize for research on the labour market using “natural experiments,” or observational studies, that have revolutionized empirical research in the field, the jury said in an AFP report.

Canadian-American David Card, Israeli-American Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American Guido Imbens shared the prize for providing “new insights about the labour market” and showing “what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments,” the Nobel committee said in a statement.

The Economics Prize wrapped up a male-dominated 2021 Nobel season which saw a total of 12 men win prizes and only one woman.

Card won half of the 10-million-kronor ($1.1 million, 1 million euro) prize for work focused on the labour market effects of minimum wages, immigration and education.

The Canadian-born professor at University of California at Berkeley commented on the honor in a self-effacing manner, saying in a statement that his “contributions are pretty modest.”