American behavioral economists Richard Thaler at the University of Chicago and Robert Shiller of Yale University are the top picks to win the Nobel prize for economy, according to wagering trends observed at the betting agency Ladbrokes.
The American nominees have contributed to research into market behavior and have studied the psychology of decision-making that affects the local and global economic conditions. Thaler is considered as one of the pioneers of behavioral finance and has extensively researched the psychology of decision-making and the behavior of markets, both in times of boom and bust. Shiller, on the other hand, has extensive experience in the study of economic patterns and had predicted the burst of the U.S. housing bubble in advance.
The U.S. not seen any major Nobel honors this year except for a prize in chemistry that American laureate Richard Heck shared with two Japanese researchers. The economy prize was instituted in 1969 to acknowledge the work done by economists to boost the overall economic growth. More than 40 Americans have won the Nobel prize for economy ever since with the last year's award going to Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson for their research in economic governance; Ostrom was the first woman to win this prize.
There are also speculations about other economists winning this year's prize with American finance researcher Eugene Fama among the top picks. French microeconomist Jean Tirole, and American macroeconomists Robert Barro and Paul Romer are also among the top contenders for the most coveted prize in the world.
