
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 13, 1993                   TAG: 9310130121
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AMERICAN ECONOMISTS SHARE NOBEL

Two U.S. economists shared the Nobel Prize Tuesday for their contribution in applying modern statistical methods to the study of the past, an honor some interpreted as a nod toward pragmatism in the study of economics.

The Nobel Prize committee named Robert W. Fogel, 67, and Douglass C. North, 72, pioneers in the field of economic history, as recipients of the $850,000 prize.

They were recognized for their efforts to fuse the rigorous and often abstract quantitative methods of economists with historians' careful attention to empirical detail.

The selection is of "immense significance," reflecting the committee's recognition that "the field of economic history has come of age," North said Tuesday.

Claudia Rosen, a Harvard University economic historian, called the award a triumph for a discipline peopled by "clever little rodents" who discover ingenious methods for unearthing historic truths.

Though the two scholars seek to bridge the gap between economic theory and historical fact, they approach their work from almost opposite directions.

"Fogel leans more in the direction of the empirical," Rosen said. "He tries to find a fact, prove it's a fact, and then prove it is a fact a hundred times over."

By contrast, North tends to be more theoretical. "North's style is to discover a fascinating theory, then fill it in, show how it helps us understand history," Rosen said.

Fogel is known for his study of slavery and its role in U.S. economic development. In the 1970s, he co-authored a provocative book, "Time on the Cross," which argued that slavery was economically viable. Critics saw the work as condoning slavery, but in a 1989 follow-up, "Without Consent or Contract: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery," Fogel made it clear he found slavery immoral.

In an earlier work, Fogel attacked the notion that railroads played a critical role in the development of the U.S. economy. By constructing a hypothetical alternative form of transport, he showed development would have proceeded with or without the railroad.

North is renowned for his study of the role of institutions such as labor unions and legal systems in promoting economic growth. Much of his work seeks to explain why some economies flourish while other fail.

North's work "has profound implications for developing economies," said Jeffery Sachs, a Harvard economist and consultant to many Eastern European governments.

by CNB