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David Card’s Nobel win shows importance of ‘challenging conventional wisdom’

By Public Affairs

card talks with a woman in his office near a window -- both are wearing masks
Professor David Card talks with Jessie Mahadumrongkul, an undergraduate student majoring in economics, in his office on UC Berkeley’s campus. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)
card talks with a woman in his office near a window -- both are wearing masks

Professor David Card talks with Jessie Mahadumrongkul, an undergraduate student majoring in economics, in his office on UC Berkeley’s campus. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Chancellor Carol Christ and Catherine Koshland, interim executive vice chancellor and provost, sent the following message to the campus community on Monday:

It is with tremendous pride that we share the news that David Card, the Class of 1950 Professor of Economics, has won the 2021 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel . It is the sixth Nobel Prize for our acclaimed economics department. Card shares the prize with Guido Imbens of Stanford and Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The science of economics and the work of Card has shaped our understanding of some of the most critical issues of our time: wages, immigration, the value of higher education and gender and race disparities in labor markets.

In the words of members of the Nobel Committee, Card’s work has improved our understanding of labor markets and “completely reshaped empirical work in the economic sciences … challenging conventional wisdom .” This last part, “challenging conventional wisdom,” is part of Berkeley’s DNA — it is what happens in our classrooms and laboratories; it is what leads to inspiration, discovery and new knowledge; it is what sets Berkeley apart and what makes it the most exciting place to work and study. And it is what results in the kind of recognition that we are celebrating today: Professor Card’s Nobel Prize is the 26th awarded to UC Berkeley faculty members.

Please join us in congratulating professor Card and his colleagues.