American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in economic sciences for their contributions to auction theory, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.
The men were honoured “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats”, said secretary-general Goran Hansson for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
“Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world,” the prize committee said in a statement.
The pair’s work has had significant positive effects on government auctions of radio frequencies, rail franchises and contracts for huge national infrastructure projects in several different countries.
The prize, called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, has been awarded since 1969.
Laureates share prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (RM4.5 million).
It is the last of the Nobel prizes to be awarded this year.