Is the Nobel Prize in Economics the Nobel Prize, or different?
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| Is the Nobel Prize in Economics |
When it comes to the Nobel Prize category, you probably have six categories. However, there is disagreement on whether the prize given in economics is a Nobel Prize at all. Because Alfred Nobel placed prizes in his will on five subjects: chemistry, literature, peace, physics, and physiology or medicine. In his memoirs, today's article deals with the history of winning and the selection process behind the addition of a new subject to see if the next award system in economics is similar to the other five.
History of the beginning
According to the will of Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize was awarded in five consecutive terms by the Nobel Committee in 1901. However, the Nobel Committee has no role in adding economics as a new subject. Rather, the award is backed by controversy between the Swedish central bank and the government.
After World War II, the Swedish financial system was governed by the government's low interest rate policy. The goal of lower interest rates was to increase employment and stimulate construction, which increased the tendency to borrow as well as increase inflation. The Swedish central bank (the world's oldest central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank) was then controlled by a directly elected government.
Sweden's central bank Sveriges Riksbank; image source: Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons
In 1955, Per-Asbrink was appointed governor of the central bank by Social Democratic Prime Minister Taze Erlander. In July 1957, Asbrink sought to declare the bank's independence by raising interest rates on loans from 4 to 5 without consulting the government, in order to free itself from the constraints of Prime Minister Erlander's order. This is known as 'interest rate coup'. The decision undermines political stability, and many members of the ruling Social Democratic Party have demanded Asbrink's resignation as governor of Riksbank. Asbrink stepped back like a service when the Prime Minister made some tough conditions with the present intelligence.
Rexbank Governor Per Asbrink; Image Source: imsvintagephotos.com
However, he identified another potential source of Riksbank's independence: income from government bond holdings. The Swedish parliament was pressuring the bank to transfer all the money to the treasury. But business and lending require money, which is why Asbrink objected. He also spoke about the need for large sums of money to set up a scientific research foundation and to celebrate the bank's 300th anniversary in 1986. In addition, Parliament withdraws most of the money deposited with banks.
Asbrink did not like the transfer of so much money at all. He was a man committed to change and a believer in coup d'etat. The bank's 300th founding anniversary draws to a close with its tug-of-war with parliament. He began to discuss whether it was possible to use the money to pay special tribute to outstanding contributors to the economy. The reader may not realize that the then Governor of the Riksbank, Per Asbrink, was the mastermind behind the creation of the Nobel Prize in Economics. The history of Asbrink's feud with the government comes from the book The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy and the Market Turn, written by Avner Offer, an economic historian at Oxford University and Gabriel Soderberg of Uppsala University.
A book on the role of social democracy in the transformation of liberalism into a progressive market system; Image Source: press.princeton.edu
The idea of an award for economics was born by adding the name of Alfred Nobel to Asbrink's head, and he raised the issue domestically with Asar Lindbeck, a young economic adviser. Lindback responded positively upon hearing the offer. They formally submitted a proposal to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to implement the plan. Although economists like this idea among members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, physicists at the academy strongly object. After much debate and discussion, the proposal was finally adopted at the Academy meeting.
Office of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Image Source: Hackspett / Wikimedia Commons
When the proposal was later submitted to the Nobel Foundation, the board members liked the idea, especially when it offered to pay an annual fee in addition to the transfer of the Rexbank Prize (which is 7 million Swedish kronor, or, 930,000). The final step in the organization was to obtain the consent of the eldest surviving descendant of dynamite maker Alfred Nobel, and he gave it, as well as insisting that the prize be called the 'Prize in Economic Science in Memory of Alfred Nobel'.
In 1969, Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen were awarded the first prize in economic science. The winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics have been selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden since 1901, following the same principles. The full title of this award is 'The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel'.
Nomination and selection process
The Economic Science Prize Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects candidates for the award in the economic sciences. The names of the nominees and other information related to the nominations are not disclosed for the next 50 years. Candidates for the award in the economic sciences will be considered as those who have been nominated by the qualified persons and have been invited to submit their names for consideration by the Economic Science Awards Committee. No one can nominate himself. The Economic Science Prize Committee sends confidential forms to individuals who are eligible to be nominated. Eligible Nominating Members are:
Swedish and foreign members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
Member of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize Award in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel;
Recipient of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel;
Permanent professors in relevant subjects at universities and colleges in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway;
Holders of the respective chairs in at least six universities or colleges, persons selected by the Academy of Sciences for the relevant year to ensure proper distribution between the different countries and their seats of study; And
Other scientists whom the academy may deem fit to invite.
Prize distribution period from the start of the nomination process; Image Source: 21jingji.com
The nomination process begins with the submission of nomination forms in September. The Economic Sciences Prize Committee sends confidential forms to about 3,000 nominees. The forms must be completed and submitted to the committee by January 31 of the following year. The committee initially selected about 250-300 candidates by February, whose names were submitted by multiple nominees. The Economic Sciences Prize Committee then consults experts to evaluate the work of the initially selected candidates. It takes from March to May to come this far.
The report is prepared with recommendations for submission to the Academy between June and August. The report is signed by all the members of the committee. In September the committee submitted a report to the members of the academy with recommendations of the final candidates. The report was discussed at two meetings of the Academy's Department of Economic Sciences. In early October, the winners in the economic sciences were selected by a majority vote of the Academy of Sciences and the names of the winners were announced. The Economic Science Awards Ceremony is held in Stockholm on December 10, where the winners receive their prizes, including a Nobel Prize medal and diploma, and a document confirming the amount of the prize.
The Nobel Prize in Economics?
According to Alfred Nobel's will, the five most prestigious and interesting awards given since 1901 are not the same as those given in economics. The money does not come from the original capital of the Nobel Foundation, but from a large grant from the Swedish central bank. The Nobel Foundation is responsible for organizing and awarding ceremonies. The Nobel Prize has been added to the Swedish central bank's name, giving the award extra prestige. Even the Nobel Foundation's website says:
The prize in economic sciences is not a Nobel Prize. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) instituted 'The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel', and it has since been awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that. have been awarded since 1901.
Economics Nobel Memorial Prize and Nobel Prize Medal are different; Image Source: opindia.com
Like the other five awards, all the information about this award is given on the Nobel Prize website. The Nobel Memorial in Economic Sciences is considered a Nobel because it follows the same principles as the mainstream Nobel Prize. Simply put, the Nobel Foundation is a different prize in the same policy. The media and economics professions give it the status of a Nobel Prize. But whatever the name of the rule, it is known around the world as the Nobel Prize.
The central bank's conflicting relationship with the political consensus on Sweden's financial system in the 1950s and 1960s was pervasive, but had a global impact. Sveriges Riksbank finally gained independence from government control in 1999, and the focus of policymakers around the world shifted from fighting unemployment to fighting inflation, with central bankers playing a stronger role.
Language: English
Topic: This article is about the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
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Featured Image: Exploring-economics.org
