Nobel Prize Goes to Hurwicz, Maskin, and Myerson

The Nobel Prize in Economics was announced this morning. It goes to Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson for their work on the design of economic institutions:

Mechanism design theory, initiated by Leonid Hurwicz and further developed by Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson, has greatly enhanced our understanding of the properties of optimal allocation mechanisms in such situations, accounting for individuals' incentives and private information. The theory allows us to distinguish situations in which markets work well from those in which they do not. It has helped economists identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes and voting procedures. Today, mechanism design theory plays a central role in many areas of economics and parts of political science.

Tyler Cowen writes:

That's funny, because this is precisely the kind of work which is going out of style in the broader profession.

Cowen also has an excellent round-up of info about Eric Maskin.

Here are Wikipedia pages for all three winners:

• Leonid Hurwicz
  
• Eric Maskin
• Roger Myerson
  

Maybe next year it will go to Gordon Tullock?