Over the next month economists throughout the world will once again engage in the annual debate over who will win the Nobel Prize in economic science. According to Tyler Cowen, the early discussions are leaning toward Robert Barro, Jagdish Bhagwati, Eugene Fama, Paul Krugman and Paul Romer as the short-list. My preference would be to see a prize go to William Baumol and Israel Kirzner for the development of the theory of entrepreneurship in modern economics. Absent that I would like to see Bhagwatti and Gordon Tullock win for the development of rent-seeking. And if that doesn't occur I guess I would like to see Thomas Schelling and Armen Alchian receive the recognition. Of the list Tyler provides, I would be sympathetic to a prize for Paul Romer and extremely unsympathetic for one to Paul Krugman. I would be completely indifferent to a prize for Barro or Fama.
These annual discussions always reinforce in my head Deirdre McCloskey's advice that we learn to understand the difference betweein being smart and being a good economist. Lets hope the Nobel rewards good economists in 2005.
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