Three economists share 2022 Nobel Prize in Economics

In this file photo taken on June 02, 2015 Former US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the World Business Forum in Hong Kong. The Nobel Economics Prize was on October 10, 2022 awarded to a US trio for their contributions on explaining the role of banks in the economy. Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig were given the nod for having "significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises, as well as how to regulate financial markets", the jury said. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP)

STOCKHOLM – The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday decided to award the 2022 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig "for research on banks and financial crises."

This year's laureates in the Economic Sciences "have significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises," the academy said in a statement. "An important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital."

This year's laureates in the Economic Sciences "have significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises," the academy said in a statement

The foundations of modern banking research were laid in the early 1980s by the laureates, whose analyses have been "of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises," the academy said.

"The laureates' insights have improved our ability to avoid both serious crises and expensive bailouts," Tore Ellingsen, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said in the statement.

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In a telephone interview onsite, Diamond said the news "did come as a surprise." Talking about the current situation, he said "we are certainly much better prepared today, compared with the 2008 financial crisis."

He said that financial crises become worse when people lose faith in the financial system, and that banks should be prepared to make the financial sector stable.

In this handout photo provided by the University of Chicago on October 10, 2022, Douglas W Diamond, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, speaks on the phone, as his wife Elizabeth Diamond looks on, in their home in Chicago, Illinois. (JASON SMITH / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO / AFP)

Bernanke, born in 1953, is Distinguished Senior Fellow of economic studies at the US-based Brookings Institution. Diamond, born in 1953, is Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Dybvig, born in 1955, is Boatmen's Bancshares Professor of Banking and Finance at Washington University in St Louis, Olin Business School.

The prize amount is 10 million Swedish kronor (about US$880,000) and will be shared equally between the three laureates.

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