Thomas Sargent, Christopher Sims win Nobel prize in economics

Two U.S. professors, Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims, were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Monday, CNN reports.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said they won the prize "for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy," the Associated Press reports.

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Sargent is a New York University professor of economics and business, and Sims is a Princeton University professor of economics and banking.

"The prize committee said the winners have developed methods for answering questions such as how economic growth and inflation are affected by a temporary increase in the interest rate or a tax cut. Sargent and Sims — both 68 — carried out their research independently in the 1970s and '80s," AP states.

The Nobel jury said that while the pair worked separately, their work is complementary and has been adopted around the world, AFP reports.