Two American economists awarded Nobel Prize for economic stabilization research

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics to two American economists on 12 October in Stockholm. Robert E. Hall, from Stanford University, and Michael Woodford, from Columbia University, won the prize together. The committee recognised their research into how governments and central banks can steady economies during difficult times. Their models helped explain how ordinary people and businesses make financial decisions. This work gave policymakers better tools to manage crises. The Nobel committee said their research proved especially useful during the pandemic and recent energy crises. Hall was born in 1943 and Woodford in 1945. The prize, which is formally connected to the memory of Alfred Nobel, is worth 12 million Swedish crowns, or around $1.2 million.