The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics 1998

Economics professor Amartya Sen was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his important contributions to fundamental problems in welfare economics. In particular, Sen's landmark work on the analysis of famine challenged the commonly held belief that shortage of food was the only cause. In his 1981 book 'Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation,' Sen analyzed several social and economic factors that play key roles in influencing the opportunities of the different social groups.