There is no “Nobel Prize in Economics”!

I know, I should save this post for mid-October when the winners are announced, but I can’t keep it in for that long.

Here is a fact worth repeating over and over again, especially in these days of hilarious but devastating incompetence in the economic field: There is no such thing as a “Nobel Prize in Economics”. The prize wrongly referred to as the “Nobel Prize in Economics” is the ”Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel”.

Hey, I can hand out a prize while remembering Alfred Nobel, too. I’ll call it the “Henrik Harr Prize in Piggybacking Onto A World Famous Brand in Memory of Alfred Nobel”.

Why is this so important to me? Well, first there is good reason to believe that Alfred himself would be spinning in his grave if he knew about it. There is a reason why he didn’t include economics among his prize categories. It’s because economics wasn’t considered a science in the early 20th century. To me, it’s still not a science. It’s guesswork, except for the fascinating field of economic history, where historians piece together in which way the guessers screwed up each particular time.

Second, it’s morally indefensive to pass yourself off as something you’re not. It’s like showing up to a party you weren’t invited to. That’s what economists do every year when the real prizes are handed out, and it makes me sick.

When I think of it, since the collective memory of economists is so short, I’ll remind you about this again in October.