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