Paul Krugman Wins Nobel Prize in Economics
Paul Krugman is surely one of the most controversial Nobel Prize winners in some time. Let me first state the guy has a research track record to be a yearly contender for the Nobel Prize in economics. Once upon a time before Krugman became an unreadable Left-wing shrill he wrote interesting, if still center-left, books like Peddling Prosperity and Pop Internationalism. He won the John Bates Clark medal in 1991 for being one of the best economists under 40. When it comes to economics Krugman isn’t a joke.
Now, does that mean there were no politics involved in his selection? I doubt it. The economics prize isn’t chosen by the Nobel Foundation committee that picks winners in physics, medicine, and other areas. Sweden’s central bank handles the task. But the selectors are in the same intellectual atmosphere that had the literature chief rip on American authors for being “too isolated, too insular.”
The strongest argument for politics being involved is Krugman didn’t share the prize. Until the mid-1990s it was the exception for the prize to be shared. After that the exception was to get it individually. Krugman, a man of the Left, didn’t have his Nobel Prize watered down by sharing it with someone more inclined to be of the Right. The classic example of that was the Swedish socialist Gunnar Myrdal sharing the prize with the libertarian Friedrich Hayek.
Anti-Bush politics probably did play some role in Krugman’s selection, but the Princeton economist does have the chops. It’s not like Robert Reich won.
Here’s more reaction to Krugman winning the prize:
- David Henderson appreciates Krugman’s work on free trade.
- Bloomberg declares Krugman’s award a “blow to Bush.”
- Alex Tabarrok summarizes Krugman’s “New Trade Theory.”
- Peter Boetke is bothered that the “economist Paul Krugman has been buried by the political pundit Paul Krugman for over a decade.” The Nobel committee has given his punditry the air of economic truth.
“Paul Krugman Wins Economics Nobel”
[...] [Yikes! I’ve defended Paul Krugman and Christopher Buckley. I may be going native.] [...]