Eugene F. Fama

Facts

Eugene F. Fama

© Nobel Media AB. Photo: A. Mahmoud

Eugene F. Fama
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2013

Born: 14 February 1939, Boston, MA, USA

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

Prize motivation: “for their empirical analysis of asset prices”

Prize share: 1/3

Life

Eugene Fama was born in Boston, Massachusetts and studied at Tufts University in Medford/Somerville, outside Boston. He later studied at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 1964. He has continued working there for his entire career. Eugene Fama is married with four children.

Work

For many of us, the rise and fall of stock prices symbolizes economic development. In the 1960s, Eugene Fama demonstrated that stock price movements are impossible to predict in the short-term and that new information affects prices almost immediately, which means that the market is efficient. The impact of Fama's results has extended beyond the field of research. For example, Fama's results influenced the development of index funds.

To cite this section
MLA style: Eugene F. Fama – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Thu. 21 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2013/fama/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.