In "Nobel" Company

Here is one of my few claims to fame. In 2004, while a student at West Virgina University, I had the opportunity to go up to Pittsburgh and hear Paul Krugman lecture and afterward attend a reception in his honor. (From left to right: Me, Saurav Roychoudhury, Dr. William Trumbull, Dr. Paul Krugman, Pavel Yakovlev, Jawad Salimi, and Priscilla Wang.) Dr. Krugman is best known by the general public for his Op-Eds in the New York Times, but he is better known in the economics field as an established economist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics earlier this week. We were invited by the publishers of his economics textbook that was coming out at the time. (Yes, we were being bribed.) I must say that he wasn't the happiest individual. Given that it was just the second week of November of that year, he was still very much in mourning.

Although many believe that this year's awarding of the Nobel Prize in economics to Dr. Krugman was politically motivated--and indeed it very well may have been--there is no question in my mind that he was deserving on merit despite the many political differences that we have. I was, however, surprised at the timing.

In one area we are in agreement as most economists are, "If there were an Economist's Creed, it would surely contain the affirmations 'I understand the Principle of Comparative Advantage' and 'I advocate Free Trade'.......Comparative advantage is not just and idea both simple and profound; it is an idea that conflicts directly with both stubborn popular prejudices and powerful interests. This combination makes the defense of free trade as close to a sacred tenet as any idea in economics,"(Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 1, Number 2, 1987, p. 131).

I have had the opportunity to see James Buchanan (Nobel Laureate 1986) at seminar at George Mason University, but was not agressive enough to officially meet him even though I sat right in back of him for about an hour. I did get to hold a replica of his medal! I also saw Gary Becker (Nobel Laureate 1992) sitting on a bench at the 2006 American Economic Association Meetings in Boston.

Of course, I know most of you don't care. I fear I have only made you more fully aware of my geekiness.