Nobel economics prize awarded to Robert Hall and Michael ⁠Woodford

What the report says

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded to US academics Robert Hall and Michael Woodford, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm on Monday, according to Al Jazeera. The prize recognizes their research on how monetary and fiscal policy can help steady swings in the economy, and the academy said their work has influenced economic models now used by central banks and governments.

Al Jazeera reported that Hall and Woodford developed new macroeconomic tools after earlier Keynesian approaches proved less effective during the oil shocks of the 1970s. Their models aim to give policymakers a stronger theoretical base for responding to recessions, inflation, energy crises and other economic shocks. The academy said they built these models on microeconomic foundations, focusing on how households and businesses collectively shape broader economic outcomes.

The economics prize, formally called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the final Nobel award announced this year. It was created by Sweden’s central bank in 1969 and is separate from the original prizes established in Alfred Nobel’s will. The award includes a diploma, a gold medal and a cash prize of about $1.2m, according to the report.

Al Jazeera also noted that most previous economics laureates have been from the United States, and that only three women have won the prize so far. Last year’s winners were Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt.