Robert E. Lucas Jr.

Facts

Robert E. Lucas Jr.

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Robert E. Lucas Jr.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1995

Born: 15 September 1937, Yakima, WA, USA

Died: 15 May 2023, Chicago, IL, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Prize motivation: “for having developed and applied the hypothesis of rational expectations, and thereby having transformed macroeconomic analysis and deepened our understanding of economic policy”

Prize share: 1/1

Life

Robert E. Lucas Jr was born in Yakima, Washington in 1937, After he graduated from high school, he attended the University of Chicago where he got a B.A in history. In 1964 he received his Ph. D. in economics. Lucas has since then worked, taught and continued his research. First at Carnegie Mellon University and, later, at the University of Chicago. He has two sons with his first wife Rita Lucas. After his divorce he met Nancy Stokes, who he now lives with.

Work

Robert E. Lucas Jr is known as a very influential macroeconomist. He was awarded the economics prize in memory of Alfred Nobel in 1995 for the for having developed and applied the hypothesis of rational expectations, and thereby having transformed macroeconomic analysis and deepened our understanding of economic policy. He has also made some fundamental contributions to behavioural economics.

To cite this section
MLA style: Robert E. Lucas Jr. – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Mon. 4 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1995/lucas/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.