The Nobel Prize Goes to an Odd (but Worthy) Economic Trio
I awoke yesterday to the happy news that two of my friends won the Nobel Prize in economics.*
Gene Fama was one of the three recipients. He and I share two important beliefs about the world. First, we value empirical research in economics — i.e., getting deep into the data to understand what is going on. Second, we both believe that golf should be played quickly! So every weekend, at least once, Gene and I get up before the sun rises and get in 18 holes (walking) in about 2.5 hours. Gene is 74 years old — he didn’t take up golf until his sixties, and I’ve seen him post a scorecard with multiple birdies on it.
Gene believes deeply and fundamentally in markets, which is why pairing his prize with Robert Shiller, a market skeptic, is quite odd. But Shiller is a wonderful economist — someone whose work I read a lot and was inspired by early in my own career — and I’m glad he was chosen.