William D Nordhaus and Paul M Romer were today awarded the 2018 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, informally called the Nobel Prize in Economics.
The two were awarded the prize for designing model that address issues such as the "long-term sustainable growth in the global economy and the welfare of the world's population," the award's committee said in a statement.
William Nordhaus has carried out research that shows how economics intersects with physics and chemistry to lead to climate change.
Paul Romer's research, on the other hand, shows "how the accumulation of ideas sustains long-term economic growth."
The Economics Nobel is only informally called so and is not technically a Nobel award. Scientist Alfred Nobel's will, which established the Nobel awards, only mentions the field of physiology (or medicine), literature, physics, chemistry and peace.
The Economics award was established in 1968 after the Swedish central bank -- Sveriges Riksbank -- made a donation to the Nobel Foundation. It is officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Last year, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Richard H Thaler, a US-born professor, for his "for his contributions to behavioural economics".
Amartya Sen is the only Indian to have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.