Two American economists have won this year’s Nobel Prize for economics for their work on climate change and its relationship with global finance. As reported…
Two American economists have won this year’s Nobel Prize for economics for their work on climate change and its relationship with global finance.
As reported by the BBC, the accolade was given to William Nordhaus and Paul Romer for their research on global warming and economic growth.
Professor Romer, who’s a former chief economist at the World Bank, has been praised for his research, which became the basis of what is now called endogenous growth theory. This theory claims that endogenous factors, such as investment in human capital, innovation, and knowledge, are bigger contributors to economic growth than any external forces.
“It is entirely possible for humans to produce less carbon… Once we start to try to reduce carbon emissions, we’ll be surprised that it wasn’t as hard as we anticipated,” Professor Romer said at the press conference, upon finding out the news.
He also said he hoped the win helped spread the message that “people are capable of amazing things when we set about doing something.”
“If we make the policy changes required, we can make substantial progress towards protecting the environment — and we can do it without giving up the chance to sustain growth,” the economist added.
Learn more about this year’s Prize in Economic Sciences. Press release: https://t.co/d9cNJdBoQx Popular information: https://t.co/QGs9dvujK6 Advanced information: https://t.co/OpIwCSRXVG pic.twitter.com/GO0qvoT5cB
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 8,2018
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who’s responsible for awarding Nobel Prizes, said the duo had addressed “some of our time’s most basic and pressing questions” about sustainable growth.
“Their findings have significantly broadened the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge,” the academy said.
Romer and Nordhaus will share the prize of 9 million Swedish krona (around $1 million).
