1999 Nobel Economics Prize Advisory

Robert Mundell, now a professor at Columbia University in New York and the recipient of the 1999 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, performed much of his most important work while a faculty member at the University of Chicago from 1966 to 1971.

In its citation this morning, the Nobel committee wrote, “Robert Mundell has reshaped macroeconomic theory for open economies. His most important contributions were made in the 1960s. During the latter half of that decade, Mundell was among the intellectual leaders in the creative research environment at the University of Chicago. Many of his students from this period have become successful researchers in the same field, building on Mundell’s foundational work.”

The Nobel committee cited Mundell “for his analysis of monetary and fiscal policy under different exchange rate regimes and his analysis of optimum currency areas. Robert Mundell has established the foundation for the theory which dominates practical policy considerations of monetary and fiscal policy in open economies. His work on monetary dynamics and optimum currency areas has inspired generations of researchers. Although dating back several decades, Mundell’s contributions remain outstanding and constitute the core of teaching in international macroeconomics.

“Above all, Mundell chose his problems with uncommon––almost prophetic––accuracy in terms of predicting the future development of international monetary arrangements and capital markets. Mundell’s contributions serve as a superb reminder of the significance of basic research.”