Nobel Politics

I find it slightly depressing that this year’s Nobel prize in economics went to Paul Krugman. There is no doubt that he did Nobel-quality work back in the 1970s and 1980s. And at first I thought that complaints that the prize was politically motivated were just sour grapes.

But two things about this year’s award suggests otherwise. First, although other economists — particularly Avinash Dixit and Elhanan Helpman — also did laudable work in the same field for which Krugman won his prize (international trade), the 2008 award was given solely to Krugman. As Tyler Cowan points out, solo Nobel prizes are exceptional in the economics field. Second is the timing: most people (including Krugman, who called it a “total surprise“) thought he would get the prize in the future, but not in the middle of political campaign in which Krugman is particularly outspoken.

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James J. Hill, Empire Builder

For part I, see James J. Hill, Entrepreneur

By 1900, James J. Hill was recognized as a miracle man who would soon be known far and wide as “the Empire Builder.” He helped J.P. Morgan reorganize the Northern Pacific, something he could have done without Morgan’s help except for a Minnesota anti-monopoly law forbidding one railroad from taking over a competitor. He then negotiated the purchase of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which connected the GN and NP with Chicago and also extended to Denver, Kansas City, and St. Louis. A fleet of steamships extended his reach west to Tokyo, south to San Francisco, and east to Buffalo.

Probably the most famous photo of Hill, circa 1902. Could that be a Thoreau pencil in his hand?

In 1901, Hill had the fight of his life when Wall Street financier Edward Harriman, who had reorganized the bankrupt Union Pacific and purchased the Southern Pacific, tried to take control of the Northern Pacific. Harriman’s real objective was the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, which would provide the UP and SP with access to Chicago. However, he had been unwilling to pay the $200 per share demanded by the company’s president, Charles Perkins. When Hill paid Perkins’ price, Harriman tried to get a share by taking over the NP.

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