The Economics Prize

Robert Fogel and Douglass North were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in economics Tuesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Both professors were singled out as leading figures within the field of new economic history.

Robert W. Fogel

Born July 1, 1926, New York City

Ph.D Johns Hopkins University, 1963

Director of the Center for Population Economics at the University of Chicago

Key accomplishments:

Has argued that slavery was economically efficient, though admitting it was deeply immoral.

Pioneered methods of studying an institution’s operation and disintegration.

Considered a leading authority on the role of the railways in the economic development of the United States.

One of the principal investigators in the field of economic demography, specifically the changing rate of mortality over time and its relation to changes in the standard of living.

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Douglass C. North Born Nov. 5, 1920, Cambridge, Mass.

Ph.D UC Berkeley, 1952

Professor of Economics at Washington University, St. Louis

Key accomplishments:

Among one of the first researchers to apply modern statistical analysis methods, such as mathematical models and computers, to re-examine both economic and political history Developed an explanatory model for American economic growth prior to 1860

Published a number of books about the role institutions play in economic growth

Presented an article in 1968 on productivity in ocean shipping which has since become one of the most quoted works in economic history Published a book in 1990 about the fundamental economic question of why some countries are rich and others poor

Sources: Times wires services, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Washington University