The 2016 Nobel Economics Prize was awarded to Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström for “their contributions to contract theory”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.
“[Their work] lays an intellectual foundation for designing policies and institutions in many areas, from bankruptcy legislation to political constitutions,” the body announced.
The economics prize, was not part of the original group of awards set out in dynamite tycoon Nobel’s 1895 will.
It is officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, established in 1968.
The 8 million Swedish crowns ($928,000) prize will be shared by the UK-born Hart and Finland-born Holström.
Economy is the fifth of this year’s Nobel awards. The prizes for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry and peace were awarded last week.
The literature prize is due to be announced on Thursday.