Extending the Nobel effect
It’s October, which means that there’s a new set of Nobel Prize winners. On Monday, Oct. 9, Richard H. Thaler was honored with the 2017 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
In recognition of this event, we have been looking back at our own connection to this venerable tradition. Over the years there have been at least nine economics laureates who have deposited their data with ICPSR. Laureates who have archived with ICPSR include: Simon Kuznets, Robert Fogel, Robert Lucas, James Heckman, Robert Engle, Finn Kydland, Elinor Ostrom, Peter Diamond, and Robert Shiller.
The laureate who archived the most data with ICPSR over the years was Robert Fogel, who was recognized in 1993 “for having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change.” His studies published through ICPSR include, Historical Urban Ecological Data, 1830-1930 and United States Census of Mortality: 1850, 1860, 1870.
Laureate Elinor Ostrom, honored in 2009 "for her analysis of economic governance," published a number of studies with ICPSR in the 1980s pertaining to police services including Decision-Related Research on the Organization of Service Delivery Systems in Metropolitan Areas: Police Protection.
Laureate Robert Engle was recognized in 2003 "for methods of analyzing economic time series with time-varying volatility (ARCH).” Studies he has deposited with ICPSR include Implied Arch Model from Options Prices and Semiparametric Arch Models.
In all, some portion of the more than 30 studies deposited by Nobel Laureates have been downloaded 100,000 times, according to ICPSR records.
“These Nobel Laureates’ decision to deposit their data with ICPSR reflects their appreciation of the value of data preservation, sharing, and access for progress in economics and other social sciences. It speaks to the far-reaching impact that preserving and sharing these data have now and into the future,” said Margaret Levenstein, ICPSR Director.
Story contributors: M. Staggs, Thomas Mackey, Elizabeth Moss, Dory Knight-Ingram, and Laurie Howland.
Graphic: Dory Knight-Ingram and Jenna Tyson, with Nobel photo courtesy of Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Contact: Dory Knight-Ingram
Oct 10, 2017