Tougher to Get Than a Nobel Prize in Economics

The University of Chicago likes to brag about its Nobel laureates. Well, my son’s kindergarten teacher Christina Hayward pulled off a feat that is far tougher statistically than winning the Nobel prize: she took one of ten Golden Apple awards given annually to the most outstanding Chicago-area teachers.
Why do I say it is tougher to win a Golden Apple than a Nobel prize? My rough guess is that there are about 100,000 teachers in the Chicago area. So one in 10,000 teachers wins the prize. By comparison, the pool of people eligible for the Nobel prize in economics is roughly the number of living academic economists over the age of 55 who have ever engaged in serious research. I’d be surprised if there are 10,000 of these folks; and only two or three of them get the Nobel prize every year.
The Golden Apple is tougher to win than the Nobel prize, but unfortunately the payoff isn’t quite as lucrative: $3,000 versus $1 million.
You can read more about Christina here.