IgNobel nominations (1)

To the Distinguished Members of the Ig Nobel Board of Governors, and the random passer-by who is traditionally invited to assist them in their deliberations.

Distinguished Members, random passer-by,

Each year since 1991, the Ig Nobel Prizes have honored research that cannot or should not be repeated. It is something of a tradition that one of the Prizes should be awarded for achievements in the field of economics.

In the past, the Distinguished Members and the random passer-by have chosen to honor the Vatican (2004, for outsourcing prayers to India), Karl Schwärzler and the nation of Liechtenstein (2003, for making it possible to rent the entire country for corporate conventions, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other gatherings) and of course the team of economists from the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that professional lap dancers earn higher tips when they are ovulating.

They have also chosen to honor Enron and 27 other financial companies for adapting the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers for use in the business world (2002), Nick Leeson for using the calculus of derivatives to demonstrate that every financial institution has its limits (1995) and Juan Pablo Dávila for managing to lose 0.5% of Chile’s gross national product by typing “buy” instead of “sell” (1993). It is in the spirit of these latter awards that I wish to make two nominations for the 18th First Annual Ig Nobel Prizes, for achievements in the field of economics whose transcendence was not fully apparent at the date of last year’s awards ceremony on October 2nd.

(to be continued)