American Wins Economics Nobel

By The Associated Press
Published: October 14, 2008

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden --

Paul Krugman, a Princeton University scholar, New York Times columnist and unabashed liberal, won the Nobel Prize in economics Monday for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns.

Krugman has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration and 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 also taken the Bush administration to task over the current financial meltdown, blaming its pursuit of deregulation and unencumbered fiscal policies for the current global financial crisis.

The 55-year-old U.S. economist was the lone winner of the $1.4 million award.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised Krugman for formulating a theory to answer questions about free trade and inspiring an enormous field of research, and said the award is based solely on "scientific merits."