NY Times columnist wins Nobel prize for economics
Mr Krugman has consistently criticised the Republican Party in The New York Times, where he writes a regular column and has a blog called Conscience of a Liberal.
He has come out forcefully against John McCain during the economic meltdown, saying the Republican candidate is âmore frightening now than he was a few weeks agoâ and earlier that the GOP has become âthe party of stupidâ.
The 55-year-old American economist was the lone of winner of the 10 million kronor (âŹ1.18m) award and the latest in a string of American researchers to be honoured. It was only the second time since 2000 that a single laureate won the prize, which is typically shared by two or three researchers.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised Mr Krugman for formulating a new theory to answer questions about free trade.
âWhat are the effects of free trade and globalisation? What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanisation? Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions,â the academy said in its citation.
Commenting on the global economic meltdown, Mr Krugman told a news conference in Stockholm by telephone from the United States that some of his research was linked to currency crises and related issues.
âThis is terrifying,â he said, comparing it to the financial crisis that gripped Asia in the 1990s.
He said winning the Nobel award wonât change his approach to research and writing. âThe prize will enhance visibility,â he said, âbut I hope it does not lead me into going to a lot of purely celebratory events, aside from the Nobel presentation itself.â
Mr Krugmanâs work on new trade theory garnered him the John Bates Clark medal from the American Economic Association in 1991.
That prize is given every two years to an economist under the age of 40.
