Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: Complete History & Winners List (1969-2025)

By IIC Lakshya

11 Oct 2025

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: Complete History & Winners List (1969-2025)

The Nobel Prize in Economics, which is also designated as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is one of the most sought-after awards in the academic and research circles of the world. Although it is commonly referred to as the "Nobel Prize in Economics, it was not one of the original prizes instituted by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Rather, the central bank of Sweden, the Sveriges Riksbank, made the foundation many decades later, in 1968, during the 300th anniversary.

This prize is named in honor of the contributions made to economics and how it has contributed greatly to the understanding of financial systems, economic theory, and policymaking in human life, and was first awarded in 1969. Whether in behavioral economics, market analysis, or global inequality studies, Nobel Laureates have influenced the very core of modern economics.

Who received the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences?

The 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded jointly to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their pioneering work on how innovation propels long-term economic growth.

Mokyr receives half of the prize for identifying the prerequisites of sustained growth through technological progress, while Aghion and Howitt share the other half for their joint development of the “creative destruction” growth model, showing how new technologies displace the old and drive dynamic economies.

A Brief History of the Nobel Prize in Economics

The Nobel Prize in Economics was established to recognize the accomplishments that are in line with the vision of Alfred Nobel to better humanity. Since the creation of the prize, it has been changed to reflect the dynamic and interdisciplinary character of economics to award economists who have broadened the field by using mathematics, sociology, psychology, and even computer science.

The nomination of the laureates is carried out by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The nomination of the candidates is done by economists, professors, and past winners, after which the work is scrutinized in a long and confidential procedure annually. The awards are made known in October, with the Nobel Prize ceremony being held on December 10, the day Alfred Nobel died.

Key Significance of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

The Nobel Prize in Economics is not just an award, but a manifestation of how economic thinking influences the way in which we perceive the world. Whether it was monetary policy, reducing poverty, or game theory, every winner has contributed to the global financial Knowledge and made an impact in the decision-making of government and corporations throughout and across the world.

This has changed significantly in recent decades, as economists are no longer doing theory alone but examining the relevance in the real world of inequality, sustainable growth, behavioral biases, and market imperfections.

Full List of Nobel Prize Winners in Economics (1969-2025).

The following chronologically lists all Nobel laureates in economic sciences, scroll down for the complete year-by-year Nobel Economics winners list (1969–2025):

1960s-1970s: The Foundational Years

1969: Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen - To create and implement dynamic models to study the dynamics of the economic process.
1970: Paul A. Samuelson - For the scientific work by which he formulated both the static and the dynamic economic theory.
1971: Simon Kuznets -Because of his empirically based explanation of economic growth.
1972: Kenneth J. Arrow and John R. Hicks - In the field of general equilibrium theory and welfare theory.
1973: Wassily Leontief - In the invention of the input-output approach and its use in economics.
1974: Gunnar Myrdal and Friedrich Hayek - To Gunnar Myrdal and Friedrich Hayek, pioneers of work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations.
1975: Leonid Kantorovich and Tjalling Koopmans - Contributions to resource allocation theory.
1976: Milton Friedman - On contributions to the study of consumption and monetary policy.
1977: Bertil Ohlin and James Meade - The contributions to the theory of international trade and capital movement.
1978: Herbert A. Simon - The contribution to the study of the processes of decision-making.
1979: Theodore W. Schultz and W. Arthur Lewis - In recognition of their contributions to the field of development economics.

1980s: Growth in Economic Theories.

1980: Lawrence R. Klein - To develop econometric models to study the effects of policy.
1981: James Tobin - To study the financial markets and spending choices.
1982: George Stigler - Works on industry structures and market regulation.
1983: Gerard Debreu - To reformulate the general equilibrium theory rigorously.
1984: Richard Stone - To come up with systems of national accounts.
1985: Franco Modigliani - To the life-cycle theory and corporate finance theory.
1986: James M. Buchanan Jr. - To come up with the public choice theory.
1987: Robert Solow - Due to his economic growth model.
1988: Maurice Allais - In recognition of his work in market theory and resource allocation.
1989: Trygve Haavelmo - To the promotion of econometric methodology.

Globalization and Microeconomics Insights of the 1990s.

1990: Harry Markowitz, Merton Miller, William F. Sharpe - In modern portfolio theory and corporate finance.
1991: Ronald Coase - Worked on transaction costs and property rights.
1992: Gary Becker - To provide economic analysis of human behavior.
1993: Robert Fogel and Douglass North - To research institutional change and economic history.
1994: John Nash, John Harsanyi, Reinhard Selten - To equilibrium theory and game theory.
1995: Robert Lucas Jr. - Rational expectations and macroeconomic modeling.
1996: James Mirrlees and William Vickrey - In recognition of work in incentive theory.
1997: Robert C. Merton and Myron Scholes - For inventing the Black-Scholes options pricing model.
1998: Amartya Sen - In the fields of welfare economics and the measurement of poverty.
1999: Robert Mundell - to analyze the monetary and fiscal policy in various exchange rate regimes.

2000s: Behavioral and Empirical Revolutions.

2000: James Heckman and Daniel McFadden - In microeconomic new analysis, analysis of individual behavior.
2001: George Akerlof, Michael Spence, Joseph Stiglitz - In the field of asymmetric information studies.
2002: Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith - To make psychology embedded in economic science.
2003: Robert F. Engle and Clive W. J. Granger - To analyse time-series financial markets.
2004: Finn E. Kydland and Edward Prescott - To the dynamic macroeconomics and business cycles.
2005: Robert Aumann and Thomas Schelling - To the game-theory study of conflict and cooperation.
2006: Edmund Phelps - To analyse macroeconomic trade-offs.
2007: Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, Roger Myerson - To mechanism design theory.
2008: Paul Krugman - To examine the patterns of trade and geography of the economy.
2009: Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson - To the research in the field of governance and institutional economics.

2010s: Finance, Policy Innovation, and Inequality.

2010: Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen, Christopher Pissarides - Of analysis of labor markets.
2011: Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims - To empirical macroeconomics.
2012: Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley - For the allocation of stable and market design.
2013: Eugene Fama, Lars Hansen, Robert Shiller - To empirical asset pricing.
2014: Jean Tirole - To discuss market power and regulation.
2015: Angus Deaton - Due to the works on consumption, poverty, and welfare.
2016: Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom - To contract theory.
2017: Richard Thaler- in recognition of his contributions to behavioral economics.
2018: William Nordhaus and Paul Romer - To combine climate change and technological innovation with long-term growth.
2019: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer - In the case of experimental methods of reducing poverty in the world.

2020s: Contemporary Economics and Factual Implementation.

2020: Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson - In the theory of auctions and real-world auction designs.
2021: David Card, Joshua Angrist, Guido Imbens - To conduct empirical analysis of labor economics and causal relationships.
2022: Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond, Philip Dybvig - For the study of banks and financial crisis.
2023: Claudia Goldin - To promote the knowledge of the results of the labor market for women.
2024: David Autor, Lawrence Katz, and Daron Acemoglu - For their contributions in automation, inequality, and labor markets.
2025: Joel Mokyr, Phillippe Aghion, Peter Howitt - For having identified the prerequisities for sustained growth through technological processes.

Did you know?

The only Nobel award not mentioned in the will of Alfred Nobel is the Nobel Prize in Economics. Nevertheless, it is still given and recognized with the original Nobel ones - this is the extent to which economics is impacting the world's development.