Robert Mundell

Mr. Mundell laid the theoretical foundations for the European Monetary Union. His theory of optimum currency areas, highlighted in the Nobel Committee's citation as one of his most significant scientific contributions, has served since the 1960s as an analytical framework for numerous debates on the validity of the creation of a European currency. Mr. Mundell was an ardent supporter of the euro, of which he is considered the godfather.

Mr. Mundell has established the foundation for the theory that dominates practical policy considerations of monetary and fiscal policy in open economies. His work on monetary dynamics and optimum currency areas has inspired generations of researchers. Although dating back several decades, Mr. Mundell's contributions remain outstanding and constitute the core of teaching in international macroeconomics.

His research has had such a far-reaching and lasting impact because it combines formal - but still accessible - analysis, intuitive interpretation and results with immediate policy applications. Above all, he chose his problems with uncommon - almost prophetic - accuracy in terms of predicting the future development of international monetary arrangements and capital markets. Mr. Mundell's contributions serve as a superb reminder of the significance of basic research. At a given point in time academic achievements might appear rather esoteric; not long afterwards, however, they may take on great practical importance.

Professor Mundell has been an adviser to a number of international agencies and organizations including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, the European Commission and several governments in Latin America and Europe, the Federal Reserve Board, the US Treasury and the Government of Canada. In 1970, he was a consultant to the Monetary Committee of the European Economic Commission and in 1972-73 a member of its Study Group on Economic and Monetary Union in Europe¨. He was a member of the Bellagio-Princeton Study Group on International Monetary Reform from 1964 to 1978 and Chairman of the Santa Colomba Conferences on International Monetary Reform between 1971 and 1987.