Bernanke shares Nobel economics prize

A US trio yesterday won the Nobel Economics Prize for research on banking's role in the economy, especially on the importance of avoiding collapses during financial crises.

Ben Bernanke, the former head of the US Federal Reserve, together with Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig were honored for having "significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises, as well as how to regulate financial markets," the jury said.

"Their analyses have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises," it added.

Bernanke, 68, the chair of the US Federal Reserve between 2006 and 2014, was highlighted for his analysis of "the worst economic crisis in modern history" - the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Diamond, a professor at the University of Chicago born in 1953, and Dybvig, 67, a professor at Washington University in St Louis, were in turn honored for showing how "banks offer an optimal solution" for channelling savings to investments by acting as an intermediary.

Agence France-Presse