“You can’t be an economist without noticing all the interesting things about how the economy works, it is natural to be interested in it and I have had the privilege to be able to study it” said Alvin A. Roth answering questions during the unexpected 4am call from Sweden. Together with Lloyd S. Shapley, Roth was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – more commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics – “for the theory of stable allocations and practice of market design”. During the award speech the field was described as being  “…about economic engineering, [and] how to design certain markets where the traditional market mechanism is expected to not work well.”

The Scientific Background compiled by the Economic Sciences Prize Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences reads: “This year’s prizewinning work encompasses a theoretical framework for analyzing resource allocation, as well as empirical studies and actual redesign of real-world institutions such as labor-market clearinghouses and school admissions procedures.” The detailed information on this year’s prize and its scientific background can be found here.

If you want to congratulate Alvin A. Roth personally, you can do so in his personal blog Market Design.