2010: Diamond, Mortensen & Pissarides

The 2020 prize was awarded jointly to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Cristopher A. Pissarides "for their analysis of markets with search frictions".

Economic theory often comes with a set of predefined assumptions about markets and individuals, this year's laureates, using search theory, worked to create models more closely aligned with reality, and developed models where the matching of market participants is not perfect. Their contributions have been used to get an improved understanding of labor markets with search frictions, and how the search activity in itself entails costs both to the individual and to society.