The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is an annual award for outstanding contributions to economic sciences. Established in 1968 by Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, it was first awarded in 1969. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects its recipients. Although commonly called the Nobel Prize in Economics, it was not among the prizes established by Alfred Nobel’s will; it is administered within the institutional framework of the Nobel Foundation. (riksbank.se)
Origins and institutional status
The prize was created to mark the Riksbank’s 300th anniversary. The bank’s donation provided for a new award commemorating Nobel, rather than an additional category specified in his testament. Its first recipients, Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen, were recognized in 1969 for developing and applying dynamic models to the analysis of economic processes, work associated with econometrics. (nobelprize.org)
The distinction between this memorial award and the original Nobel Prizes concerns its origin and financing, not a separate selection calendar or presentation system. The Academy awards it according to the same principles as the Nobel Prizes. When the Foundation accepted the Riksbank’s donation, it treated the arrangement as a specific exception, not as a precedent for creating further prize categories. (riksbank.se)
Institutional responsibilities are divided: the Riksbank finances the award, the Academy chooses the laureates, and the Foundation provides the administrative framework. The bank also makes an annual contribution toward administration and presentation costs. Thus, financial sponsorship and the authority to select recipients belong to different institutions. (riksbank.se)
Nomination and selection
Candidates are considered through nominations from qualified persons invited to submit proposals. The Academy’s economic sciences prize committee evaluates the submitted names; nomination is therefore not an open public application process. Its work forms part of the broader Nobel committee system, although the economic sciences committee has its own disciplinary responsibilities. (nobelprize.org)
The annual cycle begins with nomination invitations in September, followed by a submission deadline of 31 January. During the following months, the committee narrows the candidate pool and obtains assessments from domestic and international experts. It prepares recommendations for the Academy, whose members make the final selection by vote. Announcements normally take place in October. A nomination is valid only for the year concerned, so repeated consideration requires renewed nominations. (nobelprize.org)
Documents concerning nominations and evaluations remain confidential for 50 years. Consequently, an announced recipient and a publicly claimed nominee have different evidentiary status: the official award is immediately verifiable, whereas contemporary nomination records are not publicly available from the awarding institution. (nobelprize.org)
Research recognized
The award’s history encompasses mathematical theory, empirical analysis, economic history, and research on organizations and institutions. Early prizes included Paul Samuelson’s work on static and dynamic theory in 1970, Simon Kuznets’s interpretation of economic growth in 1971, and John Hicks and Kenneth Arrow’s contributions to general equilibrium and welfare theory in 1972. These awards recognized different approaches rather than a single prescribed research method. (nobelprize.org)
Subsequent awards illustrate the breadth of the field. Milton Friedman’s 1976 prize covered consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and stabilization policy within macroeconomics. Herbert A. Simon received the 1978 award for research on decision-making in economic organizations. Ronald Coase’s 1991 recognition concerned transaction costs and property rights, while the 1994 award to John Harsanyi, John Nash, and Reinhard Selten recognized equilibria in non-cooperative game theory. (nobelprize.org)
Later awards addressed asymmetric information, behavioral economics, and mechanism design. The 2002 prize distinguished two contributions: Daniel Kahneman’s integration of psychological research into economic decision-making and Vernon Smith’s development of laboratory experiments for economic analysis. This pairing recognized both research on judgment under uncertainty and experimental investigation of market behavior. (nobelprize.org)
More recent examples include the 2020 award for advances in auction theory and new auction formats, the 2021 award for empirical labor economics and methods for analyzing causal relationships, and the 2022 award for research on banks and financial crises. In 2023, Claudia Goldin was recognized for advancing understanding of women’s labor market outcomes; in 2024, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson were honored for studies of institutional formation and prosperity. (nobelprize.org)
The 2025 award recognized explanations of innovation-driven growth. Joel Mokyr received half for identifying prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress. Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt jointly received the other half for their theory of sustained growth through creative destruction. The award was announced on 13 October 2025. (nobelprize.org)
Presentation, financing, and award record
Recipients receive a diploma, a medal, and a monetary award at the December 10 prize ceremony. The economics award is presented alongside the Nobel Prizes awarded in Stockholm. Its monetary value matches that of a full Nobel Prize, but the Riksbank supplies the funds. In 2025, the full award amounted to 11 million Swedish kronor, divided among recipients according to their assigned shares. (nobelprize.org)
From 1969 through 2025, the prize was awarded every year: 57 awards recognized 99 individuals. Of these awards, 26 went to one recipient, 20 to two, and 11 to three. The three women recognized during that period were Elinor Ostrom in 2009, Esther Duflo in 2019, and Goldin in 2023. Duflo was the youngest recipient at 46, while Leonid Hurwicz, honored in 2007, was the oldest at 90. (nobelprize.org)