AWESOME: Once Again, Israeli Wins Nobel Prize!

Professor Joshua Angrist of MIT is Co-Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

For the 13th time in history, an Israeli citizen has won the Nobel Prize, this time in Economics. Professor Josh Angrist (along with his co-winner Professor Guido Imbens) is being acknowledged for his ground-breaking research and conclusion on the effects of unintended (or natural) experiments in the labor force. In other words, his research proved that data from non-controlled, real-world experiments can show causation in the economy (this was not believed to be the case beforehand). This can assist decision makers in producing improved economic policies, based on observed cause and effect. As an example, the effects of minimum wage on the job market or the benefits/liabilities of extended compulsory education on society, in situations where randomized controlled trials are not practical or ethically possible.

Professor Angrist was born to a Jewish family in Columbus Ohio and studied economics at Oberlin College. In 1982, at the age of 22, he made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and served for three years in the IDF as a paratrooper. After his service, he received his MA and PHD from Princeton University and began teaching at Harvard. Later, he returned to Israel as a senior lecturer at Hebrew University. Currently, he has tenure at MIT.

The first Israeli to win a Nobel Prize was prolific author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, who won in the field of Literature in 1966. Over the next few decades, Prime Ministers Menachem Began (1978), Yitzchak Rabin (1994) and Shimon Peres (1994) would each go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2002, Daniel Kahneman became the first Israeli to win the prize in the field of Economics, as did Professor Robert Aumann in 2005. Between 2004 and 2013, six Israelis won in the field of Chemistry.

In ranking countries by Nobel laureates per capita, Israel ranks 11th of all time, beating out scientifically advanced nations like France, Germany, Canada, the US, New Zealand, and Australia (when looking at only the last 20 years, Israel ranks much higher). Looking at world Jewry as a whole (which currently makes up only 0.2% of the world’s population) 22% of all Nobel Prizes winners have been Jewish.

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.