Nobel economics prize goes to Americans Sargent, Sims

American economists Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims have won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their research “on cause and effect in the macroeconomy.”

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the winners announced Monday 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.

The economics prize is not among the original awards established in dynamite tycoon Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, but was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in his memory.

The prize award ceremony will be held simultaneously in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10.