The envelope, please

This year's Nobel Prize in economics goes to Paul Krugman.

Here is a description of the contributions for which he is justly lauded today.

Congratulations, Paul!

To learn more about the newest laureate, you can read an analysis of Paul's research contributions and an analysis of his op-ed pieces.

Update: Justin Fox of Time Magazine says I predicted this prize back in 1999. I don't recall that precise conversation with Justin, but I am sure he is right. It was not a hard forecast to make. No one knowledgable about developments in the theory of international trade could have doubted that Paul was on the short list. The timing, of course, was impossible to predict, and I am a bit surprised that the Nobel committee did not award the prize jointly with some other economists who worked along similar lines. But the prize itself was an easy call.

Update 2: The prize induces Businessweek's Michael Mandel to reflect that Paul is not, as Mike once accused him, an "enemy of growth."